Can't Let Go
by Massacre13
Summary: Stephanie has moved on. She has a new life. A mortal life. But the Sanctuary needs her back, she's too valuable to let go, and when things go horribly wrong, will it be her friends, or her family that she sides with? And how will her family react to her secrets? *Sequel to 'Lending a Helping Hand. Disclaimer: I do not own Skulduggery Pleasant, all rights belong to Derek Landy*
1. 1 - The Life She Leads

**HELLO EVERYONE! If you aren't alreayd aware this is a SEQUEL to my first story, 'Lending a Helping Hand' and if you have NOT already read this story then DO NOT CONTINUE! This story contains spoilers from the original, and will reference back to it quite a lot, so if you haven't already, read the first story (here's the link: s/8911290/1/Lending-a-Helping-Hand) so go ahead and read that first. And if you've already read the original sotry WELCOME BACK! I would just like to say I am so sorry for the way I ended the last one, but it had been planned for a while, and it was the only ending I could think of that would allow me to make this sequel in particular. **

**Now, I'm going to leave you with the chapter, but at the bottom I will put some important information, so if you don't want to be seriously confused by this whole story, then I suggest you read that. Until then, enjoy. :)**

* * *

Stephanie woke up to her alarm clock blaring out an ungodly sound. Smacking the button, she groaned and turned over under the covers.

"Morning already?" The calm quiet voice said from the other side of the bed, half-asleep.

"Mmm, I know. 5 more minutes." Stephanie muttered. She felt a kiss plant itself on her cheek and she opened her eyes, looking up at her husband tiredly.

"I have to get ready for work, and Carol has school today."

"Urgh, I hate Mondays."

"I know," he smiled sympathetically as Stephanie groaned again and sat up, letting the covers fall off her. She stood and wrapped her deep purple dressing gown around her. She had been up 3 times in the night with their youngest child, Lucia. Lucia was already two and a half, but still hated being alone during the night, and Stephanie was paying the price. Her husband, John, rolled over and sat up himself, making his way to the bathroom.

They had been married for 7 years, their wedding day just after Stephanie's twenty-first birthday. It had been one of the best days of John's life. He had finished University and gotten a high rise job in the banking industry, and Stephanie, well, she was Stephanie Edgley, famous author extraordinaire who took people of all ages on tours of magic adventures with both heroes and villains, ups and downs, a continuation of her famous Uncle's famous legacy. John didn't know where she got her inspiration, but he was glad of it. It made her happy. At least, he thought it did.

Stephanie walked into her first daughter Carol's room, to find she was still fast asleep, head buried in the pillow. Stephanie leant against the door frame and smiled a tired smile before walking in, sitting on the edge of the bed and resting a hand on her daughter's shoulder gently.

"Carol honey, it's time to get up. School today." Carol groaned and rolled over. With her father's hair and cheeky grin matched with his mischievous attitude, Carol was the least like Stephanie, even though they shared the same dark, searching eyes. Lucia was much more like Stephanie (during daylight hours at least), with the same features and pale face, same scowl and smile, same attitudes and characteristics. It was almost impossible to think that she wasn't a small clone. Her first word had been 'no'. Sums it up pretty easily.

Stephanie opened the curtains, letting light stream into the room and Carol groaned. She was 5 years old, yet barley acted like it, helping her younger sister as much as possible and acting in a maturity beyond her years, as her mother did. Stephanie moved back to the door.

"You have 15 minutes to get up, washed, dressed and get downstairs for breakfast. Ok? Carol? Do you hear me?" Carol groaned. "Good." Stephanie moved away and walked to Lucia's room, across the hallway. Naturally Lucia was already awake and standing in her crib, grinning expectantly, like she was happy she had deprived at least 5 hours sleep in one night. Stephanie put her hands on her hips.

"So, madam. Come here." Stephanie smiled and picked up the toddler from her crib, resting her on her hip delicately.

"What are we going to do today?" Stephanie asked, in an excited yet mature tone. Lucia giggled before holding her arms out wide.

"Draw!" She exclaimed.

"Draw, ok. Well, first we have to have breakfast, and then we have to take Carol to school, and then we have to put flowers on Aunty Carol's grave. And when we come back, we'll draw, before grandma and grandpa come over with Aunty Alice. Plan?"

"Plan!"

"Good." Stephanie put her daughter down. "Go on then. Be careful on the stairs, don't go too fast, and hold the railing!" Her daughter bounded away quickly before Stephanie could finish her sentence. She walked back into her own room to find John was already changed in his newly ironed shirt with smart tie and blazer. Stephanie got changed quickly, throwing on a t-shirt and jeans and bushing her long dark hair into a ponytail. She walked back to Carol's room to find her up and dressed with clean face and triple-checked school bag, as it was every week day morning.

"Ready for breakfast honey?"

"Yep!"

"Good, come on then." Her daughter skipped away in front of her down the stairs, to the dining room. Lucia had already managed to climb up onto one of the chairs and was waiting impatiently, squirming in the seat. Carol sat next to her, just as impatiently as Stephanie poured two bowls of cereal and added milk. Spoon-feeding Lucia hers so it didn't end up on the floor, Stephanie smiled at her young family. She had a wonderful husband who kept them both emotionally and financially secure, two beautiful daughters that provided joy like no other, and there had been no signs of anything going wrong with her career as an author either. Everything was going well, far better than expected. Far better than Stephanie could have ever hoped.

John pecked her cheek on his way out, kissing both his daughters on their foreheads.

"I'll be home for five!"

"Have a good day!" Stephanie called after him. He grinned at her as he closed the door, both girls waving and calling out their goodbyes. Carol and Lucia finished their breakfast as Stephanie heard the car leave the driveway. After shoes were buckled and coats were zipped up, the girls were loaded into the other car and Stephanie got behind the wheel. The primary school was no more than 5 minutes away by road, 20 by foot, and had a view of Dublin in the distance. They lived no more than 20 miles away from Dublin's outskirts, in the opposite direction of Haggard, Stephanie's choice rather than John's.

Stephanie had always had a secretive past that her husband didn't pester about. It seemed to bring her pain, and make her sad, and whenever he mentioned it, or asked about it, it was almost certain Stephanie would have nightmares and become quickly stressed and short tempered, sometimes not talking for days, and if she did, it would usually be to argue or hurl insults. John and the children stayed well away from the topic of Stephanie's teenage years. John suspected it had something to do with her cousin, Carol's death, discovered when she was eighteen years old, as he knew they had grown closer as they aged, but beyond that he had no clue. She once mentioned it was to do with a past job she had while she was a teenager, but never mentioned what the job was or what it entailed. The only thing about her past she still participated in would have been the physical combat sessions she attended at the local leisure centre. Not only did she enjoy them, she was good at them. John wasn't sure if that scared him or not. But Stephanie and his daughters seemed happy enough, and that was all that mattered.

Stephanie dropped off Carol at school and made her way to the graveyard with Lucia. On the way they collected flowers, bright red roses. Stephanie placed them on Carol's grave silently, an almost emotionless expression on her face, before squeezing Lucia's hand lightly and returning to the car.

At the house, they had only just begun to set up the drawing equipment (a.k.a colouring book and pencils) when the doorbell rang. Stephanie left Lucia at the table, walking curiously to the door before opening it. She was about to ask 'can I help you?' when she saw the blue eyes, the strong torso, and of course, the scarred head.

"Ghastly," her voice came out as a whisper, let out in a breath. He had a grim expression on his face. For a moment, nothing was said, or done. Stephanie just stared at him.

"May I come in?" He asked, and she jerked back slightly, her trance interrupted, before nodding, and opening the door. He stepped inside, and she closed it behind him, noticing the grey van parked at the kerb. She didn't turn around from the door, her hand still on the handle.

"I'm sorry Valkyrie. I wouldn't have come if I wasn't desperate."

"It's Stephanie. Stephanie now." She couldn't' help but correct him. She hadn't been Valkyrie in years. The name seemed almost alien to her now, so why did she long for it back?

"Yes. Yes, of course it is." Ghastly said quietly. A gurgled laugh came from the kitchen, and Stephanie looked up worriedly with wide eyes before she realised it was merely Lucia. Ghastly glanced to her, and she glanced back slightly before walking further into the house. She moved into the kitchen and picked Lucia up from the table.

"Go and play upstairs for a few minutes ok? Find your colouring books." Lucia giggled and ran past Ghastly's feet towards the staircase, not even acknowledging he was there. She rested her hand on the table as Ghastly's gaze lingered at the bottom of the staircase.

"Yours?" He asked.

"My youngest." She said, nodding slightly "The oldest is at school."

"That age already?" Ghastly said, looking around the room. She could tell he was anxious, he didn't want to make small talk, he wanted to get straight to the matter, whatever it was. He was only talking for her sake.

"Where's the lucky man?" He asked.

"Work." She muttered "Ghastly, it, it's good to see you again, it is, but, _why are you here_? I – I'm retired, you know that. Nothing's changed."

"Unfortunately. It has." He replied, and she looked up at him. The cheery smile she'd seen as a teenager had been replaced by a long grim line. Ghastly sighed. "Things, haven't been right since you left. With Skulduggery I mean. He misses you." Stephanie tapped her fingers on the table.

"I know that. I've missed him too. I've missed all of you. Why should that matter?"

"You know how he is, you probably knew him best."

"That's not true. You fought with him in the war, you're best friends. Surely you know him better than I do."

"You'd be surprised." Ghastly responded bluntly "Stephanie, I can't really tell you much unless I have your word that you'll come in on this. I know it's not what you want, believe me, you were the last resort, but we can't do this without you." Stephanie stopped drumming her fingers, noting the almost plea-like tone of his voice that sounded completely different to the Ghastly Bespoke she had known. This thing, whatever it was, must have really affected him. As he said, they were 'desperate'.

"I couldn't say yes or no without knowing what I was letting myself in for." She muttered. Ghastly ran a hand over his scarred head.

"Skulduggery… since you've left he's become quite, _unstable_. 2 weeks ago, he disappeared."

"Disappeared?" But, but, Skulduggery couldn't _disappear_. He had to go somewhere, do something. Surely he was just on the trail of some master-criminal or something? Ghastly nodded.

"A few days later, we get word that a man in black armour 'made of shadows' has attacked a magic community. Next day, this same shadowed man attacks another group. Then another. Then another."  
"Lord Vile." Stephanie whispered. Slowly, Ghastly nodded.

"We need you to come back and help us find Skulduggery. Convince him that if you're prepared to help, he should be too. Then we can take down Vile." _No. No no no no no no. Nope._

"I'll think about it." _What! What are you _doing_! Are you trying to get yourself killed! You have a family now! Two young girls who need you!_ Ghastly pulled out a card. _Say no_ – the rational part of Stephanie's mind told her – _say no and have done with it. You swore you'd give this up. _She took the car from him and looked at him.

"Call me on that number in the next 24 hours if you're in. If you don't call, we'll assume we can't count on your help. If you do… we'll sort things out from there." She nodded passively. He sighed.

"I really am sorry, Stephanie. You're free to say no, if you want. We just thought it was worth a try." He took a step, about to leave.

"What, what will happen, if I say no?" She asked quietly. Ghastly didn't look at her, but instead stared at the closed door.

"If you say no, well, we're pretty much all screwed."

* * *

When John got home that evening he found both of Stephanie's parents and his sister-in-law sitting in the living room, playing with the two children.

"Hey John!" Alice exclaimed, hugging him.

"Hi Alice, Melissa, Desmond."

"Hi John!" Melissa and Desmond responded simultaneously.

"Where's Stephanie?" John asked.

"She's in the kitchen, making coffee. John," Alice said "I think there's something wrong with her."

"What do you mean 'wrong'? What's happened?"

"Well, she won't say. But she's gone really quiet and she seems really distanced. Did you have an argument or something?"  
"No, she was fine when I left this morning." John said worriedly, turning his head towards the kitchen.

"I'll go and talk to her."

"Ok, we'll keep those two in here." Alice said, glancing behind her at the children. Although she was only fourteen, Alice was every bit as mature as Stephanie and her parents, and was growing up, fast.

John frowned concernedly and made his way to the kitchen to see Stephanie slowly stirring three cups of coffee by the kettle, twirling a card in her fingers.

"Steph, honey?" Stephanie paused and turned around.

"Hi love. Would you like some coffee, I just put the kettle on."

"No, I'm fine. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." She said quietly, turning back to the coffee and putting the kettle on again.

"Yes there is."

"No there's not."

"Steph..." John said, moving closer and putting his arms around her waist, pulling her into a hug. "You know you can talk to me, about anything." She placed her hands on his arms and moved them away before turning around.

"It's nothing, really. Just… just something I have to think about." He looked at the card in her hand.

"What's that?"

"What's what?"

"That card." She stiffly put the card in the pocket of her jeans.  
"What card?"

"You seriously think I didn't just _see_ you put the card in your pocket?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." She muttered, turning from him and pouring the boiled water into the extra cup, even though John hadn't asked for one.

She picked up the cups and took the coffee through to the living room without saying anything, then returned quickly for her own cup, but John stopped her.

"Steph, I'm with you, for better or worse. Tell me what's wrong." Stephanie looked away.

"It's nothing you have to concern yourself with." She said bluntly "I'm fine."

"You're a really bad liar, did I ever tell you that?"

"You may have mentioned it a few times. How was work?"

"Don't change the subject. I'm not dropping this until you tell me what's wrong."

"An old friend just came by, ok? It's nothing important, just kind of shocked me a little, but I'm fine." She moved quickly, ducking under his arm that was blocking her way and escaped into the living room.

"Stephanie-"

"Just _drop it_. Ok?" Melissa looked up from her grandchildren to her oldest daughter and son-in-law, and frowned.

"Steph? Are you alright?"

"God, I'm _fine_!" Stephanie snapped, and then put her fingers to the bridge of her nose, scrunching up her eyes, as if she had a migraine. "I'm going upstairs." She muttered, and left quickly. They looked to John, and he shrugged, looking towards the staircase.

"Wonder what's wrong." Desmond said, looking to John.

"She won't tell me anything." He sighed.

"Wonder where she gets _that_ from." Desmond muttered. Melissa smacked him.

* * *

Stephanie paced across the bedroom, threw open the windows, paced across the bedroom again, closed the windows, paced again. _What do I do_? She swept her hands through her dark hair, sat on the bed, stood up again, paced some more, and then sat down again and rested her elbows on her knees. She put her hands to her face, cupping them around her mouth. Skulduggery had gone back. Back to Lord Vile. He'd lost the will to be Skulduggery. He'd lost the fight. But… he still might be in there. Like she was still in there when, when _she_ took over. An old feeling stirred in her chest and Stephanie began to panic. She hadn't thought about _her_ in years, not outside of nightmares and irrational thought. Not consciously. She couldn't even say _her_ name anymore without it hurting, memories flashing back. Her parents first house…the fire…

She covered her eyes with her hands and choked on the air slightly, as if it were difficult to breathe. She was a young woman now, an adult, a wife, a mother. If anything, she had made it worse for herself, having a family, living the most ordinary of ordinary lifestyles, in the most ordinary of an ordinary house. She was relatively _normal_, and to be normal was to be inconspicuous, unsuspicious. That was how she wanted it to be. But, Skulduggery was her friend. Ghastly was her friend. Tanith (the only person from her past life she'd seen since she'd quit) was her friend. And now they needed her. Otherwise Lord Vile would destroy everything in the sorcerer world. And once he was through with that world, he'd moved onto _this_ one. This normal one, full of unsuspecting mortals, with no sorcerers to protect them. And Skulduggery would definitely be gone by then.

She stood, picked up the phone, sat back down again. She cradled it in one hand, the other moving to her pocket and pulling out the card. She hadn't even realised she was hyperventilating. She had the sudden urge to throw the phone across the room, chuck it out of the window, smash it with a hammer. Instead, she dialled the number. Ghastly picked up the phone almost immediately, only 2 rings in.

"Hello?"

"It's Stephanie." She replied quietly. "What time do you want me in?"

"I'll pick you up at 9 in the morning. There's a meeting at 10 with the Elders and the few others who are in on the whole thing. Tanith and me included."

"Ok," she found herself muttering.

"I'll bring you some new protective clothing too – you'll have grown out of your old ones."

"Ok," she muttered again.

"We'll see you tomorrow. 9 o'clock."

"9 o'clock. Got it." She was still muttering, and then she pushed the 'end call' button, and realised her hands were trembling. She threw the phone down and suddenly stood, almost with new purpose, pulling travel bags down from the wardrobe.

She strode into Carol's room with one of the bags, opened the wardrobe doors and threw as many clothes as possible into the bag. She put in all the school books Carol would need, the spare uniforms, the weekend clothes, the underwear, everything. She strode with the same purposed stride into Lucia's room, and did exactly the same thing, adding cuddly toys in with the mix. She put them on the landing and returned to their room. She paused a moment, then shook her thoughts away and packed John's bags too. She took extra care folding his shirts and suits for work, but apart from that, everything went in a mess. She barely noticed him walk in the doorway and freeze, until his quiet voice split the air.

"What are you doing?" He asked, and she turned, whirling around to him, half a shirt in her arms, part-way folded. He was pale, wide eyed.

"It's not what you think." Stephanie said slowly, putting the shirt down on the bed.

"I saw the bags on the landing." She looked away, putting the shirt away and zipping up the bag. "Steph, if there's a problem with us then we can work it out."

"I'm not leaving you John." She said, picking up the bag by the handles and walking past him out of the room.

"Oh you're not? What's all this for then?" His voice was getting slightly louder.

"_I'm_ not leaving you. You and the kids are leaving me. You're going to go to my parents' house, and you're going to live there for a few days."

"What are you talking about?" He said, before he grabbed her forearm and turned her around to face him.

"Stephanie, we're not going anywhere."

"You are. I won't be here either. This house is going to be empty. Completely empty."

"You're joking. Stephanie please tell me you're joking."

"Do I look like I'm joking?" She snapped before squeezing her eyes shut again, her hand going to the bridge of her nose. She was getting a headache. "I'm not going to argue with you about this John. This isn't about me, and this isn't about you, ok? This is about being safe."

"Safe? What, the house isn't safe anymore? Stephanie, what _are_ you talking about?" His anger had dissipated. Now he was just confused and concerned.

"Just, please. Please, do this for me." She opened her eyes and looked at him. He was watching her with curiosity, and sighed.

"This better be important."

"Trust me, it is."

"Trust you? You won't even tell me what's going on."

"Maybe… maybe that's for your own good." There was a moment of silence between them.

"So. You're not coming with us?"

"No."

"Where are you going?"

"A friend is coming to pick me up tomorrow morning. I'll probably be staying with him and his fiancé until everything's sorted."

"And what exactly is 'everything'?" She picked up the children's bags without answering his question, and walked away.

* * *

**HELLO AGAIN! Ok, so here is your important information:**

**. This story will be SPLIT into two sections. Section 1 will be at most 10 chapters long, and then section 2 will be (hopefully) significantly longer.**

**. At the break between sections I will probably put up a compliation of one-shots from the time jump between Lending a Helping Hand, and this story, so I will let you know when that's up.**

**. I actually forgot what I was going to call this story (Oops XD), so the title may or may not change, but the content will be the same.**

**. The update rate might not be as good as it was in the other story as the first section of chapters are going to be longer than they were before, so will take longer to write, but I'll try my best to be consistent with the updates. **

**. Remember to leave a review, PM me if you have any questions, and leave a favourite, all that good stuff :)**

**I hope you enjoy this next installment. :)**


	2. 2 - Old Friends

She paced the room. 8.47. Why was time going so slowly? Her old boots were sat next to the door, still as pristine as they'd ever been, her feet not having grown since she'd last worn them. Her daughters were gone. Her husband was gone. It was just her. It was almost how she'd thought it would be, when she'd first quit being a detective. Just her, all alone. But of course, her parents wouldn't have allowed that. She'd gone to University, not just to please them, but to give her something else to do, a distraction of sorts. That was where she'd met John. She'd been on a Creative Writing Course. He'd been doing Maths and Business. Not a likely match. She hadn't even noticed him until she learned his name, and she didn't really do much then, just laughed at how normal it was. After all the people she'd been around, Skulduggery, Fletcher, Ghastly, Tanith, even some guy named Frightening, such a normal name seemed to send her into hysterics, and after a bit more noticing, she noticed he wasn't that bad looking. He'd apparently noticed her a bit more though, as no more than a week later, he had asked her out, and it had gone from there really. She hadn't been alone much after that. She'd made a few new friends (lost contact with most of them by now), and if she wasn't at home with her family, she was at meetings with her agent, discussing boring deadlines and the slightly more interesting pay-cheques. No business offers though. She never accepted them. Gordon was a free spirit. She intended to be the same. She wouldn't have a 'big boss' telling her what to do.

8. 52. 8 minutes until Ghastly was due to arrive. Damn that clock. She thought she might be able to take one of the kitchen knives and stab it, but that probably wouldn't change anything, save for the fact she wouldn't be able to tell the time any more. She was missing a class at the centre today too. Her 'defence training', one of the only things she'd thought might be worth keeping up with. If anything had happened, she'd figured still being able to defend herself might be a positive. Besides, she still had plenty of enemies out there. Sanguine being at the top of that list. After all the stuff that had happened in England, well, she did impale him on a tree. That might not have helped ease his grudge.

For the first few months after she'd quit, she was worried Billy-ray Sanguine would find her and her family. She couldn't sleep at night. Gordon had her move his echo-stone cradle into her room so he could form right there if she needed him to. Not that he could do much, but a guy suddenly in the room might scare Sanguine off just a little bit for Stephanie to gather her wits and kick his ass. She'd worried about the same thing when she and John had first decided to start a family. She'd debated it night and day, what kind of life her son or daughter might have, whether they would have magic too, what kind of risk they would be under just by having her as their mother. She still worried about it, with her daughters being so young and John being so mortal and naïve.

5 minutes left. She clicked her fingers and a flame appeared. Of course, she hadn't let herself get rusty. She guessed there had always been a part of her that just _needed_ magic to live – unfortunately that part was probably influenced by _her_. Still, it was a good thing, now at least, that she hadn't just abandoned magic altogether, otherwise she'd really be in trouble, having to learn it all over again. Was it possible that, without practise, after the level she'd been at, she could have lost her magic? Maybe. She didn't know.

She sighed, frustrated, and paced some more, just clicking her fingers over and over again, summoning a flame and dousing it, summoning it and dowsing it. She was over the age of the surge, yet had never experienced it – she'd quit before she had the chance to. She wondered if that would have any implications if she tried Necromancy again. It would be amazing if she could still use the two branched of magic, but she wasn't planning on staying long. She hoped she wouldn't need to find out. Plus it probably wouldn't help if she turned up again to face Skulduggery and was using Necromancy – the _real_ Skulduggery had never liked it. Lord Vile, of course… But no, Lord Vile wasn't Skulduggery. Just like she wasn't _her_.

2 minutes. What was that? Was that the sound of tyres on gravel? Was a car pulling onto the drive? Was it them? She half-expected light footsteps to approach her from behind, and a velvety voice to say she was being stupid, worrying so much, that they had a job to do, and standing around glaring at the clock wouldn't do anything. That _was_ the sound of tyres on the drive. It was them!

She strode to the door, barely restraining herself from jogging, and rested her hand on the doorknob. Just wait, you're not eager. You're fine. Everything's _fine_.

_Knock-knock-knock_. She opened the door immediately. Ghastly raised an eyebrow.

"That was fast." He said bluntly.

"I heard you pull up. Are you coming in?"

"I expect so." He stepped inside, and Stephanie noticed the brown package under his arm. She closed the door behind him, and he handed it to her.

"Protective clothing. I recommend you get changed before we leave. We're throwing you in at the deep end I'm afraid."

"Got it." Stephanie nodded "Thanks." Ghastly said nothing as she hurried upstairs to get changed. The feel of the new soft clothes on her skin made her feel good, like the old days. She'd almost forgotten how comfortable clothes tailored by Ghastly were – although she had never forgotten what a good tailor Ghastly was. Even when he was Grand Mage, he was still known as a great tailor. The trousers were black, tinged grey at the ankles. The jacket was the same, black but tinged grey from the elbows to the wrists, which she zipped up hastily. She paused and crouched, reaching under the bed. Her fingers closed around the handle of a briefcase. She lifted it up from under the bed and put it on top of the covers. She unclipped the hinges and opened the lid, her breath hitching slightly. Her hat lay inside, slightly dusty, but still looking brand-new. The hat Skulduggery had given her, with the dark red ribbon. Her hands gripped the brim and she removed it from the case. She went downstairs and slipped on her boots quickly, hat in hand.

"A good fit?" Ghastly asked, and she nodded with a slight smile.

"As good as ever."  
"Good. Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

"Let's go then." He opened the door, and she locked it behind them. A grey van was parked on the drive, and Ghastly got in the driving seat. '_Not nearly as comfortable as the Bentley_' Stephanie thought with a pang. Ghastly started the ignition and it rumbled to life, pulling out of the drive and onto the road.

"Tanith sends her congratulations about the children, by the way." Stephanie smiled gently. Tanith had been her maid of honour at her wedding (Alice was the head bridesmaid) – to the surprise of everyone else. After all, her parents thought Tanith was a teacher and no one else knew her, but how could Stephanie have her wedding without Tanith? She had invited Skulduggery and Ghastly as well, but Skulduggery hadn't shown up. And if he had, well, she hadn't seen him. Ghastly had been sat in one of the back rows, smiling the entire time. But she hadn't seen either of them since.

"So, you and Tanith didn't get married?"

"No, not yet." Ghastly said with a sad chuckle "After she came back, I had planned on asking her straight away, but, it wouldn't have been fair on her. She needed to get her head together a little bit – after an experience like that, who wouldn't?" Stephanie nodded slowly "So, we decided to wait a little. I guess I chickened out a bit after that." He chuckled nervously "The right moment just hasn't arrived. Do you know what I mean?"

"I know what you mean." Stephanie said, nodding.

"Mmm." Ghastly said in agreement. "How did your husband propose to you?" He asked. Stephanie paused.

"We had just graduated from University, and we went for, well I guess it was a 'romantic' dinner, on the evening. And when we'd finished the meal he got down on one knee in front of the whole restaurant and asked me to marry him." She smiled at the memory "It was a good day."

"I remember Tanith being ecstatic once you'd called her. More so when you asked her to be the Maid of Honour. She was practically running around the house on the ceilings."

"Well, it wouldn't have been 'the big day' without you guys there." She said, and Ghastly smiled at her. There was silence for a few moments until they stopped at a red traffic light.

"Ghastly, what have I missed, since I left?" Stephanie asked quietly. Ghastly's comforting smile turned into a grim line.

"It hasn't been good, I'm afraid. Shortly after you resigned, the other Sanctuaries were threatening war against us. It was a close call, but after a series of very long negotiations, war was avoided."

"That's good."

"Yes, but we lost quite a few mages before it got to that point. Assassination attempts, raids, full on fights, quite a few never made it out alive. I'm afraid Ravel was one of them."

"Erskine's dead?" Stephanie said, shocked. Ghastly nodded grimly as the light turned green, and he resumed driving towards the Sanctuary.

"He took a team into what looked like the first stages of a battle-field. Only one of the men came back, and he died shortly afterwards from his injuries."

"And the ones they were fighting against?"

"They backed off. Most of them were dead too." Stephanie said nothing, but felt guilt tug at her stomach. What if she had stayed? Would Ravel still be alive?

"Fletcher's back, too."

"Fletcher? I thought he was in Australia."

"He was. He moved over again a few years ago. Seems Myra wasn't the right girl for him."  
"What's he doing now then?"

"From what I've heard he's living with his fiancé and son somewhere north of Dublin."

"He's got a kid?" Stephanie said with wide eyes.

"It shocked me too, when I heard. His fiancé's an adept, goes by the name of Jade Blossom or something like that. She's training to be part of the medical team, so I've heard. His son will be about…4, now, I think. Maybe 5."

"What's he called?"

"Fletcher."

"No, his son."

"Oh." There was a pause "You know, I can not remember. There haven't really been many family related conversations lately. And he's not in much anyway, only when we need him. He's sort of treated as a… freelance, agent."

"Agent? Really?"

"I didn't give him the title." Ghastly muttered. Stephanie went silent. It seemed to strange to her that someone could balance family and magic. For her, it was either her family _or_ magic. There could only be a singular choice. But, Fletcher didn't have any parents, and, according to Ghastly, his new family was magic. Stephanie's on the other hand, was completely mortal. Except for her. Still, she didn't picture Fletcher as the 'fatherly' type. Still, she wondered if any of her old friends pictured her as the 'motherly' type.

The van pulled up at the side of a kerb.

"Here we are." Ghastly said, turning off the ignition. Stephanie opened the door and stepped outside. The air was surprisingly chilly. Stephanie watched Ghastly get out of the van and begin to walk down the street. She followed him, and they walked into a building that looked like a house on the outside, and a really _really_ decrepit house on the inside.

"New headquarters?" She asked. He nodded.

"After the last incident, we changed bases… again. Although really it's the same place just with a new entry point and the old one blocked off. No major changes save for this."

"Why an old house?" She asked as he tapped a sequence out on the wall, and then opened the door to what looked like it led to a basement, that actually went much further down.

"We tried to make it as inconspicuous as possible, somewhere no one would look. We made it look occupied on the outside so no one would try to come in, and abandoned on the inside, but too dilapidated for anyone to sleep in if a homeless person wandered in by mistake. You'll need the code to be able to open the door. We'll give it to you in the briefing."

"When's the briefing?" She asked.

"5 minutes ago."

"Ah." _Just like good old times. _She followed him down the staircase, overhead lights illuminating the way, the door closed firmly behind them. It seemed to go on forever, until Ghastly paused where there was a small blue symbol on the side of the wall. There seemed to be still miles of staircase to go, but Ghastly tapped the symbol twice and a door formed on his left. He turned to her.

"China's been… back in touch, since you left, you might say. She had the idea of planting a symbol on the side of the wall to allow people access to the Sanctuary. If they're an intruder, and don't know about the symbol, then they'll just keep walking the staircase."

"Forever?"

"It would seem like forever. Really they'd just be on a loop, and until someone came to get them, preferable one of us so we could ask them what they're doing trying to sneak into the Sanctuary, they'd stay stuck like that."

"How often do you check it?" She asked as she followed him through the door.

"About every other hour." He replied. Stephanie shuddered. She would hate to be continually walking that staircase even for more than five minutes, never mind a few hours. This door lead them into a brightly lit corridor, with the anonymous cleavers (who remained unchanged, Stephanie noticed) posted at either side of each door.

"You've upped security." She noticed.

"We've had to, now that we think a certain someone's back." Ghastly said darkly. Stephanie nodded. With Lord Vile, ever precaution had to be taken. She just hoped she could get him to turn back into Skulduggery while there was still time. _If_ there was still time, that was.

He lead her through more corridors, and then Stephanie began to recognise parts of it, the layout of doors, the main directions of movements. Hell, even their own direction was beginning to feel familiar. They were back in the old part of the Sanctuary. And the doors to the council room were just up ahead.

"So, what's this about China coming back?" She asked. Ghastly smiled a knowing smile at her.

"You'll see." He said mysteriously, and she raised an eyebrow. He opened the doors dramatically, and the few quiet voices that had previously been talking, stopped. Ghastly walked in, and Stephanie followed him. He stepped aside to reveal her dramatically, and she gripped her hat tighter in her hands.

A large table had been placed in the middle of the council room, with a map or Ireland laid out on it. Around this table were Tanith Low, Fletcher Renn, China Sorrows, Dexter Vex, Donegan Bane and Gracious O'Callen.

"Valkyrie," Tanith breathed, and she didn't bother to correct her. Valkyrie smiled nervously before Tanith strode over and wrapped her in a bear-crushing hug.

"It's good to see you too." She managed to choke and Tanith released her, holding her by the shoulders.

"You're sure about this?" She asked, looking into her eyes.

"As I'll ever be." She replied honestly, and Tanith nodded, a broad smile stretching across her face.

"Good to have you back Cain!" Donegan called.

"It's like you never left!" Gracious agreed. Valkyrie smiled slightly.

"I wouldn't say that."


	3. 3 - Back in the Game

**Hello again! I'm sorry it's been over a WEEK since I last updated. Things have been pretty hectic, and as I said I really want to make these chapters just a little bit longer, so, yeah it took more time to write. Enjoy!**

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Valkyrie stood at the table alongside the others as China pointed at a series of black and red circles plotted across the map.

"The red circles are where Vile has been sighted and the black circles are areas where he's killed." China explained, and Valkyrie nodded stiffly. She was partly relieved to see that there were far more red circles than black circles. Still, it didn't look good.

"We've managed to track him from Bantry to Limerick, and he was last spotted in Carlow." China continued, pointing to each place in turn from the bottom of the map to Carlow. It was just south of Dublin.

"So he's heading here?" She asked, and China nodded gravely.

"It would appear so."

"Skulduggery was last seen near Bantry. He was supposed to be tracking a high profile murderer there, and no one's seen him since." Dexter Vex took over from China, talking to Valkyrie as he pointed at Bantry. "We don't know if he's still there, or if Vile's got to him. Either way, Bantry's our best bet at finding him."

Valkyrie had to remind herself that the people around her weren't aware that Skulduggery _was_ Lord Vile. She'd have to find a way to stay so she could get to him. Going to Bantry would be a complete waste of time. If only she could tell them that.

She remained silent as Dexter continued.

"The situation is bad. Really bad. We'll need Skulduggery if we're going to be able to defeat Vile." _No kidding_. "We're going to split into two teams. One will go to Bantry to track down Skulduggery. The other will stay here and prepare the defences for when Vile arrives."

"_If_ he arrives." Tanith interrupted. Dexter sighed.

"Fine, if it makes you feel better, we'll say 'if'." He shook his head slightly "China will lead the group here. I'll lead the other group to Bantry. Donegan, Gracious, Ghastly; you're with me. Tanith, Valkyrie, you stay here with China. Fletcher, can you get us to Bantry and then get back here?"

"Sure thing." He nodded.

"Why isn't Valkyrie coming with us to get Skulduggery?" Donegan asked "It would make more sense."

"If Skulduggery knows that Valkyrie's here, he'll probably make his way here himself to come and see her. It would save some time if we didn't have to look for him."

"I think you're really overestimating how much Skulduggery might want to see me again." Valkyrie said to him, and she felt slightly pained inside, remembering the day she had left him and the Sanctuary.

"Or you might be under-estimating… if that's even a word." Tanith said, nudging Valkyrie's shoulder.

"Tanith's right. Even if we find Skulduggery first, the mere fact you're back will give him a motive to get back here." Dexter said "We'll leave in an hour. Get yourselves fed and belted up. We're off to Bantry."

* * *

Valkyrie watched as Fletcher took hold of Dexter and Ghastly's arms and teleported them away to Bantry, returning for Gracious and Donegan before disappearing again. Then he was back, and alone this time.

Tanith guided Valkyrie through the new part of the Sanctuary, the part that had been built after she left, and filled her in on the details of the changes.

"Ravel died pretty shortly after you left," she said as they walked down the corridors "Since then, China's been voted as the Grand Mage."  
"China's the _Grand Mage_!" Valkyrie gasped in shock. Tanith chuckled at her reaction.

"Yup."

"I bet Skulduggery wasn't happy about that." She muttered.

"Actually," Tanith said, turning to her "It was his idea."

"Wait what? I don't think I heard you right; Skulduggery _wanted_ China to be the Grand Mage?"

"Well… it was complicated. We were running out of people we could trust, people who were still actually willing to work for the Irish Sanctuary. China was low, name in the mud, no friends or family. But she's smart. She knows how to run things. Skulduggery suggested we get her back in. We can keep an eye on her, and, being honest, she's done a great job so far."

"Define 'great'."

"We're all still breathing."

"Ok, so great."

"Right. Dexter and Ghastly are the other two Elders. Ghastly wanted to resign and go back to being a tailor, but who would have taken his place? No one wanted to, Skulduggery was the only one remotely capable and he wasn't doing it, so Ghastly decided to stay."

"He only took the job in the first place to find you, you know."

"I am often reminded." Tanith said with what was almost a grimace "People aren't so fond of having me back, even now, and it's been ten years. I'm starting to wonder if they'll ever trust me again."

"Hey, they're letting you be with me," Valkyrie said with a nudge "They wouldn't do that unless they trusted you. They wouldn't tell you that Vile was in the area, of that Skulduggery was missing if they didn't trust you, would they?" Tanith let out a humourless chuckle and then hugged Valkyrie's shoulders as they walked.

"See Val, this is why I've missed you. It's been lonely without a little sister, you know that?"  
"I've missed you too, Tan." They walked in a comfortable silence for a few moments before entering the library, Tanith skimming the shelves for research articles on defences.

"So, tell me about these kiddies of yours. Ghastly mentioned that you and your man had been busy." Tanith said with a wink, and Valkyrie rolled her eyes.

"Don't be so perverted, and yes, I have two children."

"Are they cute? Like their absolutely amazing mother?"

"My youngest is. My first daughter is more like her father."

"So we're not saying names?"

"Not in these walls."

"Fair enough."

"I heard Fletcher had had a kid."

"Yeah, he brings him in sometimes when there's not much happening. His fiancé's always there though. You can never talk about the past while she's there. Bring up your name and whoo, she's off."

"My name?" Valkyrie said, startled "What does she have to do with me?"

"She just doesn't like Fletcher's ex's in general." Tanith shrugged "She hates his other girlfriend too, what was she called? The Australian one."

"Myra."

"Yeah, Myra. But, we kept your marriage quiet, you see. She probably doesn't even know you have your own man."

"Oh goody. I'm back one day and already someone hates my guts." Valkyrie muttered.

"Don't worry – she hated your guts even when you were gone."

"Great, that makes me feel so much better." Valkyrie said sarcastically. Tanith shot her a grin and Valkyrie couldn't help but grin back with a little scoff of a laugh. "So, if I need, for whatever reason, to get patched up, I avoid her?"

"You won't have to. Kenspeckle's already fussing over you – and he hasn't even seen you again yet."

"Kenspeckle," Valkyrie smiled "I'd almost forgotten he was back."

"Don't let him hear you saying that or you'll be off the favourites list."

"I said 'almost', didn't I?" Tanith plucked a book from a shelf, flicked through it, scoffed, and put it back again.

"I hate researching. This is definitely _not_ my scene."

"Have you still got your motorbike?"

"I'd be lost without it."

"Just checking." There were a few moments of silence before Tanith started to mutter under her breath as she picked up another book, and then put it back.

"Why are we even doing this?" Tanith muttered.

"Defences."

"Screw defences. We've got cleavers, we've got China's symbols _and_ we've got a teleporter. What else could we need?" Valkyrie picked up a book from the shelf and opened it at a random page.

"How about… nope, I got nothing."

"Great, so we go back and tell them everything's A-ok." Tanith said with a roll of her eyes. "God, this is so stupid."

"Why not just say, upped security and extra training for newbies?" Valkyrie suggested. Tanith tilted her head in thought.

"It'll do. Let's go. This place was boring anyway." She strode off, leaving Valkyrie to stare after her for a moment, almost overcome with a surge of memories, before she put the book down and hurried after her.

Tanith certainly hadn't changed that much, Valkyrie noticed. She was still fun, rebellious, and hadn't aged a day. Valkyrie could only list one of those things for herself – she hadn't aged much either. Still looking like she might be eighteen or nineteen. Then again, she had been a very mature-looking eighteen-year-old.

She was getting very curious about Fletcher and his very own 'new' life – engaged with a 5 year old child? It didn't sound much like Fletcher. She was almost looking forward to meeting Jade Blossom – it would be interesting to see what kind of woman Fletcher had settled for in the end… providing she wasn't killed the moment she set foot in the medical bay.

She walked just behind Tanith, in a single line as a few other mages walked in the opposite direction. She didn't recognise them, but one of them pointed at her (attempting subtlety) and muttered to the other one. She felt like telling them to take a picture (it would last longer) but kept her mouth shut and her head facing forwards, pretending she hadn't seen them at all, ignoring the fact that her fists had clenched slightly, and continued following Tanith.

They walked past two cleavers, each one flanking the side of the door. They didn't even try to stop Tanith or Valkyrie from walking into the medical bay. The first thing Valkyrie saw was a flash of bright blue, and then she was tackled into a hug.

"You're back!" Clarabelle screamed down her ear. Damn… she had almost forgotten Clarabelle was there – honestly she was surprised the poor girl hadn't already killed herself out of sheer lack of common sense.

"Hi Clarabelle," Valkyrie managed to breathe, and she was released to look on Clarabelle's beaming face and wide innocent grin. She wondered how Kenspeckle felt every day, looking at that face, the face of the girl who had killed him… before he had been brought back from the dead of course. "We've all missed you so much!" Clarabelle continued, oblivious to the internal thoughts of Valkyrie Cain. "When we all heard you were coming back – oh goodness! I'll go get Kenspeckle! He's been dying to see you again!"

"You do that." Valkyrie said with a faint bewildered smile, and Clarabelle bounded away through another door to fetch Kenspeckle. Valkyrie took the opportunity to look around a little more.

The room hadn't really changed much. There were still hospital beds, equipment, metal trolleys, the walls were still white washed, the lights still bright but dim at the same time. It was cleaner, a lot cleaner.

"Does Nye still work here?" Valkyrie asked, to no one in particular.

"Dr Nye works at the other half of the bay." A voice replied, and it was only then that Valkyrie noticed that she and Tanith weren't alone in the room. Her eyes landed on a woman with chocolate brown hair that was tied back in a pony tail. Her skin was the colour of honey, her big eyes brown and curious. She was slim, and of middle height, wearing a white apron over jeans and a t-shirt (or at least, it had used to be white before someone had gotten blood on it).

"Hi Jade," Tanith said slowly before she equally slowly turned to Valkyrie. "Valkyrie, this is Jade Blossom, Fletcher's fiancé. Jade, this is Valkyrie Cain."

"Yes, I'd heard you were back." Jade said, her eyes scanning Valkyrie up and down in one swift movement – it was barely detectable, but after so many years with Skulduggery, Valkyrie had learned to pick up the little things.

"It's nice to meet you." Valkyrie said politely. This woman was extraordinarily pretty. Not the kind of beautiful that China was, but still, very pretty. A moment of awkward silence hung between them before Tanith filled her cheeks and let it out in a raspberry, which made Valkyrie look to her, a childish grin edging its way onto her face.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing." Tanith replied innocently "Let's see Kenspeckle, then we can get back to Dexter."

"Yup." Valkyrie muttered, and followed Tanith through the door that Clarabelle had come through.

"You ever need healing, feel free to find me." Jade said from the edge of a bed.

"Thanks," Valkyrie said, "I will." They walked through the door and closed it behind them. "_Never _leave me alone with her." Valkyrie whispered and Tanith fought back a laugh.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Val." She answered. Letting her eyes drift from Tanith, Valkyrie immediately spotted Kenspeckle, who was trying to restrain a crazed Clarabelle that was yelling rapidly, jumping up and down and pulling on his sleeve to go with her.

"Calm down woman, for goodness sake!" Kenspeckle was barking harshly, then he looked up, and almost froze. Valkyrie gave him a little wave.

"Heeey Kenspeckle." She smiled, and Clarabelle stopped jumping.

"There! There! See! That's what I was telling you!"

"You weren't speaking anything other that gibberish." Kenspeckle responded, almost automatically, before he walked over to Valkyrie and hugged her quickly.

"It's good to have you back, Miss Cain." He said, and Valkyrie smiled at him, almost shyly, a little taken aback that he had actually hugged her. Had she really been missed that much?

"Well, it's good to be back, I guess." She responded with a nervous chuckle. He nodded slightly.

"You don't look a day older than when I last saw you." He commented, and Valkyrie shrugged.

"That's how it's supposed to work, isn't it?"

"Yes, but, still. Quite strange knowing ten years have gone by and you're still as young as ever." Valkyrie noticed how he hadn't hesitated to think of the number of years she had been gone. She smiled slightly. It was nice to think that she hadn't been forgotten – even under the circumstances. She wondered whether her name would no longer be 'Miss' Cain – she was married now, wasn't she? But, being called 'Mrs Cain' felt too strange, too alien. No, she would settle for Miss. She found she liked that better.

They stayed and talked for a while, though there wasn't really much to say. Kenspeckle asked her if she liked her life away from the Sanctuary. She said she did, it was a very pleasant life. Clarabelle asked her if she'd be staying forever. She said she didn't know, but it was unlikely.

"To have called you in in the first place, something very serious must be going on." Kenspeckle said solemnly. Valkyrie was slightly startled, but didn't show it. Of all the people in the Sanctuary, she would have imagined the Elders would have told Kenspeckle what was going on. With Lord Vile on the loose, the medical staff needed to know what kind of injuries they might be up against – if the victims were still alive at all. Usually after a run-in with Vile, it was unlikely.

"Well, you're not wrong." She muttered, and she could feel Kenspeckle's eyes on her, analysing her. When the door flew open, she was almost glad of the distraction.

"There you are!" A flustered voice announced breathlessly. The owner of that voice came stumbling in, clipboard in hand, his body slightly hunched with the effort of running. "I've been looking everywhere for you! Elder Vex wants you both in the council room immediately!" Tanith glanced to Valkyrie with a hardened face, but Valkyrie could detect the worry in her eyes.

"Let's go." Tanith said, and they set off, half-jogging, half-running through the corridors back to the Elder's council room.

"Who was that?" Valkyrie managed to ask between breaths.

"The new Administrator," Tanith managed to reply "Don't ask me what his name is because I'll be damned if I can remember!"

"What happened to the old one?"

"Retired. He was six hundred and something when he first took the job, decided he was too old for that kind of thing."

"Oh," she managed to reply before Tanith practically ran into the door and entered the council room. China and Fletcher were there. China was stood still, analysing the map, whilst Fletcher was pacing nervously.

"How bad is it?" Tanith asked immediately – she didn't even bother to ask what it was about. There was no need to. China looked up at them both, her eyes slightly darkened against the paleness of her beautiful face.

"Vile has been spotted." She said, her tone serious and grave.

"In broad daylight!"

"It's not even midday!"

"I know," China responded "just when you think things can't get any worse."

"Where was he seen?" Valkyrie asked.

"North of Carlow. It's not far away." Fletcher replied solemnly as he paced the room.

"We have to hope the boys are close to finding Skulduggery."

"And in the meantime?" Tanith asked. China looked at the three of them.

"We're leaving."

"Now?"

"Now."


	4. 4 - Vile

**HI! How proud of me are you? Two updates in two days. Yup. :) It's a bit shorter than I wanted, but I didn't want to drag it out. Please enjoy this very action filled chapter!**

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Valkyrie took hold of Fletcher's arm, trying to stare straight ahead and not look up at his grim face. She wondered what her husband would have thought of her if he could have seen her now, about to teleport to Carlow to stop one of the most evil entities in the world from destroying everything. And for once, it wasn't _her_ destroying everything.

Tanith was on Fletcher's other side, sword strapped to her back, brown leather jacket zipped up, her blonde hair shifting with every movement of her body. And then there was China, stood next to Valkyrie, ready to grab her arm just before they teleported. Dressed in a black tunic and grey trousers, her icy blue eyes startlingly alert and pained with thought and worry.

"Ready?" Fletcher took hold of Valkyrie's arm at the elbow as each of them nodded. Fletcher teleported them away to hadn't been able to recall the sensation of teleporting – it wasn't enjoyable, but it wasn't unpleasant either. It was over in less than the blink of an eye. They went from the warmth of the Sanctuary's council room, to the chill of the morning air. It must have been no more than eleven in the morning, and already everything was going to pot. They had teleported between two buildings, in a deserted alleyway. There was a small bustle of people walking by from the exit, and occasionally a car drove past. They walked to the edge of the exit, making sure they were still in shadow.

"Vile was spotted just around the corner, near that building." China whispered, pointing. "It was one of our agents who saw him, just out of the corner of his eye before Vile disappeared into shadow. He might still be around." She looked from left to right at the people who passed. "Try to stick together, watch each other's backs and _do not_ hesitate to attack if you catch sight of him. Follow my lead." She stepped out into the street, with Tanith, Fletcher and Valkyrie following her. It wasn't exactly inconspicuous, three women dressed mostly in leather and a guy with stupid yellow hair walking down the street in quick succession, but people seemed to pay them no mind. One little girl looked and pointed, but her mother shooed her on and past. Valkyrie thought with a pang about her own daughters. How Carol would be at school, Lucia playing with her grandparents and giggling happily. Her husband would be at work, probably worrying about her, wondering where she was and what she was doing. She wouldn't tell him. Ever._This_ life would remain a secret. And once this whole business was over, she'd be returning to her family, never to have anything to do with it again. That was the plan. It was a shame her plans never worked.

They stepped in the apartment building that China had pointed too. There was a reception desk in the centre of the room, a flight of stairs to the left and a corridor to the right leading further into the building where there would presumably be elevators. It wasn't classy, but it wasn't run down either. It was rather… average.

"Can I help you?" The receptionist asked. Valkyrie was reminded of when _she_ had been in control and had walked into the hotel China was staying in – the receptionist there had said exactly the same thing before she had been killed. Valkyrie wondered how China could be so calm around her – after all, China and Kenspeckle knew about _her_, about Valkyrie's ticking time bomb.

"We're here to see Saracen Rue. He's expecting us." China said, and she batted her eyelashes. It was at that moment, Valkyrie decided, that the receptionist looked at China properly.

"I love you."  
"That's very kind." China responded smoothly "Which floor is Mr Rue on?"

"Floor 5, room 26," the receptionist answered. "Will you marry me?"

"A lovely offer, but I'm afraid I can't accept." China said, and walked on towards the elevators. The others followed her.

"That must get pretty annoying after a while." Tanith said with a sort of smirk.

"You have no idea." China sighed as she pressed the elevator button. The doors slid open a few seconds later, and they piled in, pressing the button for floor five. As the doors closed, astereotypically annoying elevator music began to play. Valkyrie groaned.

"Really?" she muttered. Apart from that they were silent. She noticed that Fletcher was rubbing his hands together nervously, and then the elevator doors slid open. China strode out, with Tanith just behind her, and Valkyrie and Fletcher behind her. Instantly they could tell something was wrong. The air was cold, much colder than downstairs, and even outside. There was window at the end of the corridor that had the curtains torn off, though the glass itself wasn't broken. The door to room 26 was hanging off its hinges.

"Stay close and be careful. Vile might still be here." They advanced to the door, and Tanith kicked it open. It fell off its final hinge and crashed to the floor. The window in this room was broken, curtains flapping in the wind. A table was overturned, television smashed, shelves destroyed.

"We're not too late are we?" Fletcher whispered, but China's face was grim. The bedroom was empty, seemingly not that touched apart from the giant hole in the wall that suggested someone had been thrown through it, plaster and insulation hanging from the insides of it like the guts of a person. Tanith looked out of the broken window, and then shook her head. Nothing there. The kitchen was a mass of tiles and broken shards of wood, glass and pottery. It was eerily silent.

Valkyrie moved to the bathroom and pushed open the door. Someone screamed at her and lunged as she jumped back to avoid the knife they were clutching in their hands.

"Saracen!" He halted, knife still raised as if to strike her down. He didn't look good, bloodied, his jaw crooked, clothes torn. But he was in one piece.

"'alkyrie?" He said, and she realised his jaw was broken. "'here's 'ile?"

"He's gone – we think." She replied. He turned around as the other rushed to them.

"Saracen, what happened?" Tanith asked.

"'Lor' 'ile got 'e, the ba'tard." Saracen replied. Fletcher looked him up and down.

"I should get him to the medical bay."

"Yes, you do look rather worse for wear," China agreed, and Saracen shot her a lop-sided smile. "Just before you go, which way do you think he went?" Saracen point to the window, and China sighed, nodding.

"Right. Go get yourself patched up." Fletcher grabbed Saracen's arm and teleported him away. China sighed.

"It looks like he's gone." Valkyrie wasn't exactly sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. Tanith suddenly crouched, sword in hand.

"Not quite." She muttered, and Valkyrie span around. Out in the corridor, the shadows were morphing, twisting, changing.

"Stay together." China commanded, and Valkyrie drew her gun. But, could she really shoot Vile knowing it was Skulduggery? Time didn't let her answer herself, as Lord Vile emerged from the shadows. Tall, black, his armour connected with the darkness, shaping it into spears, waves, boulders of pure dark energy. Valkyrie stared. He let them loose.

The shadows barrelled towards them, surging like a tsunami over only a few meters distance. China tapped her arms and a blue symbol shone in front of them, creating a shield that stopped the direct impact of the shadows hitting them. Another symbol came to life, this time on the floor, and another on the wall, and on the fallen door. But they only lasted for a few seconds before they were swept away, absorbed by the darkness that was swarming around them like a hurricane.

Valkyrie snapped her fingers and flames jumped to her hand. She threw the fireball, but it dissipated in the shadows. It was a petty, humiliating, attempt. Tanith tried to lunge forwards, but China stopped her with a knowing look. If Tanith went into that darkness, she wouldn't come back out alive. They moved backwards, towards the window. Fletcher still hadn't returned. The shadows disappeared for a moment. Valkyrie looked up, and saw that Vile was standing in the doorway, looking at them. She tried to plead with her eyes, begging to give Skulduggery back, but the stone cold armour showed no reaction other than to hurl a dozen shadow spears in their direction. The shield stopped most, the others slamming into the wall. China tapped her stomach and more symbols appeared. Vile looked to the one closest to him. Tanith took her chance. She dodged out of the protection of the shield, lunged forwards and swung her sword.

Lord Vile grabbed her by the throat, lifting her off the ground so her feet dangled before she began to thrash, kicking out, tried to raise her sword but found that shadows smacked it away. Then he threw her. It was too fast, like a blur, but Valkyrie found herself dodging, dropping her gun, moving, leaning out of the window and catching Tanith's hand before she fell to her death on the street below. The wind whistled in her ears as she felt Tanith's hand in hers._God she's heavy_, Valkyrie thought. Tanith managed to grab Valkyrie's wrist with her other hand, and Valkyrie pushed her feet against the wall and she pulled, but she could already feel her hand slipping with the strain. She spotted a ledge, probably belonging to the apartment below, a meter or so below Tanith's feet. But it was thin.

"Tanith!" Valkyrie called, hoping her voice would carry against the wind "Can you get to that ledge?" Tanith looked down, saw the ledge and swore.

"Yeah," she replied after cursing, and Valkyrie leant further out of the window, lowering her as much as possible.

"Ok, I'm going to drop you on three!"

"Right!" She could hear fighting behind her, China grunting in effort, probably trying to keep Valkyrie safe while she helped Tanith. Where the hell was Fletcher?

"One!"

"Yep!"  
"Two!"  
"Whose idea was this?!"

"Thr-" She didn't get to finish her sentence as something latched onto her leg and pulled. She shot backwards and slammed into – or rather through – a wall. The only sound she heard was her own startled grunt before she realised there was plaster and insulation piled on top of her. Hopefully Tanith had made it to the ledge alright. Valkyrie tried to move and nearly cried out as pain shot up her leg. It must have been broken, but China was still out there, now alone against Lord Vile. Valkyrie pushed her hands up, moving the plaster away from her, the spores of the insulation being sucked into her throat with each breath, scratching the line of her trachea in spikes of white hot pain. That was how you knew you were back with the Sanctuary – you got put through a stupid amount of pain.

She forced herself to move, crawling out from under the plaster and stood, hobbling on one leg. China was still fighting, her figure slightly hunched with the effort of pouring so much energy into so many symbols. Although China didn't seem to be winning, she had succeeded at getting Vile's attention focused solely on her. Valkyrie moved to the hole in the wall her body had created, and snapped her palm against the air. Shadows blocked the move, but Vile's armoured head turned to her. She felt herself pale slightly, knowing her friend was in there somewhere, but before he could make any threatening move towards her, Vile was flung from his feet out of the room through the door, and through the wall on the other side. He had probably just trashed someone else's apartment, but oh well.

Valkyrie limped out through the door and saw China furiously striking her body, a wall of symbols covering the entrance and surrounding wall.

"You ok?" China managed to grunt. Valkyrie nodded stiffly.

"Yeah, I'm ok." She shuffled to the window and looked down. There was no Tanith on the ledge, but there was no splattered Tanith on the ground either. Valkyrie heard a scream come from the room below, and figured Tanith must have gone through the window of the apartment below to get back up. She mentally apologised to whoever's window Tanith had broken, and whoever's flat she had just broken into.

"We don't have much time," China said, making Valkyrie look at her "We've just made this fight interesting, and Vile isn't known for leaving interesting fights."

"Then we have to leave." Valkyrie said sternly "If we stay here, we'll all die, and then we're no good to anybody. Especially you – you're the Grand Mage. They need you now more than ever."

"We have to find a way to stop him or we'll all be dead anyway."

"We will. Just not today." The shadows were already gathering back, pooling in the doorway on the other side of China's symbols. Tanith reappeared on the other side of the wall.

"Er, can you let me in?" She asked, eyeing the symbols warily. China gritted her teeth, locking her jaw and lowered a symbol. Tanith jumped through, and the symbol went back up. Tanith was grazed, her forehead slightly bloody (Valkyrie suspected she had cracked it against the wall on the way down to the ledge), but she was alright.

Fletcher chose that moment to appear. He stood grinning, as if he was recovering from a funny joke, and then looked around at the destroyed apartment, and frowned.

"What happened?"

"Vile." China answered, and Fletcher paled.

"That's not good." He said dumbly.

"No kidding," Valkyrie said with a roll of her eyes.

"Um, I think it may be time to leave." Tanith said, her sword raised. The shadows were merging at the door, the symbols' glows were flickering.

"Yup," Valkyrie answered quickly, and China gave a final nod. Fletcher moved to China and teleported her away first. The shadows began to pound at the door as he reappeared. He turned to Valkyrie.

"Get Tanith first," she said, and after a moment, Fletcher nodded, moving to Tanith, who hadn't even realised Valkyrie had spoken. The symbols were fading faster now.

"Skulduggery… stop this…" The wall of symbols broke and shadows surged forwards. Fletcher reappeared, grabbed Valkyrie's arm, and teleported them away.


	5. 5 - Cluttered Mind

Valkyrie didn't like the medical bay any more. Not one bit. Even as Kenspeckle was patching up her leg and muttering to himself, Valkyrie was privy to the stares and glances that Jade would occasionally shoot her way as she mended Saracen. Valkyrie felt constantly on edge, like the woman would jump over the hospital bed and attack her at any minute, even though she had made no direct movement, nor contact of any kind since Valkyrie had fist hobbled into the medical bay. Not good. She was thankful that Kenspeckle was there, although was slightly unnerved by how Clarabelle would suddenly appear out of nowhere, bouncing up and down to bring something, and then would disappear again, chatting away to herself.

Valkyrie remained as quiet as possible, keeping her head down. It didn't feel right to be there. After all that time she had been gone to suddenly come back and need medical treatment – treatment that could be saved for someone else (not that there was anyone else in there at that time that would have needed it apart from Saracen who was already being treated when she got there).

She sensed that Kenspeckle might have been worried about her being so silent. In the past when she was being treated she was only silent if she had a broken jaw or missing teeth or something because it hurt to talk. She wasn't silent voluntarily. But if he was, he didn't bring it up, just lowered his voice a little bit. Valkyrie caught Jade giving her another glance and resolved to keep her head straight forward so as to not look at anyone but Kenspeckle when he occasionally came into her line of view to put some sort of herb remedy on her wound. It was an open fracture – nasty. Or, it had been before she'd come in. Now it wasn't so bad, and the leaves Kenspeckle had given her to chew on had numbed the pain. Still, compared to child birth, a broken leg wasn't as painful. At least, in her opinion.

"All done. Try and relax for an hour or so." Kenspeckle declared, and Valkyrie nodded as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood, leaning slightly on her good leg.

"See you later Saracen," she said with a glance, and he gave her a thumbs up and a wave. She walked out of the medical bay with only the smallest limp. She couldn't get Lord Vile off her mind. Skulduggery had to be in there, he _had _to be. Even when she'd gone onto the other dimension, and Skulduggery was Lord Vile, she'd always thought of Skulduggery being in there somewhere. She just had to find him. Of course, _that_ Vile was far too corrupted for rescue. This Vile couldn't be. He just couldn't. She had to find him, and save him. She owed him that much.

She made her way down the corridor, passing cleavers, and then paused and looked at the door to her left. That door number… that was the room Skulduggery had trained her in, when the Sanctuary had first been moved to Roarhaven. She could hear someone else training inside, right at that moment. She suddenly felt old – the next generation was being trained up to save the world, represent the Irish Sanctuary, develop as mages. She sighed internally, and carried on.

Tanith was waiting for her outside the doors to the council room with her arms folded, her eyes looking slightly into the distance before she spotted Valkyrie, and stood straight.

"Hey, all patched up?"

"Pretty much," Valkyrie sighed.

"Ghastly just called. So far there's been no sight of Skulduggery." _Well there wouldn't be, would there?_

"None at all?"  
"Nope. The only sign he was there at all was the Bentley – they found it parked a few streets down from the suspect's hideout."

"And the suspect?"  
"No sign of him."

"What about the hideout?"

"Bit of blood. That was about it."

"Any signs of forced entry?"

"Ghastly didn't say, but I don't think so."

"Mmm."

"What are you thinking?" _Of course Skulduggery's not there because he's Vile – we just saw him no more than an hour ago._

"Nothing that's useful at the moment." She answered. "Where's China?"

"Probably beating up Fletcher for being late." Valkyrie eyes widened, and Tanith scoffed "Not literally."

"Why was he late?" Valkyrie asked.

"From what I can tell, when he got Saracen to the medical bay, Jade pulled him over and started an argument."

"Oh." Valkyrie said, because there didn't seem to be much else to say. She had had arguments with John – arguments with your partner were never good.

"I know." Tanith said, understanding without even having to ask.

"So, what happens now?" Tanith sighed.

"Well, there's not much we can do. We're trying to track Vile's movements from the apartments, but we're not getting very far. Necromancy isn't exactly easy to track."

"Well you're not wrong." Valkyrie muttered, and Tanith sent her a tired smile. "What about you? Are you alright? You did get thrown out of a window."

"A few grazes, nothing more. You know me Val, I'm practically invincible." Tanith said with a wink and a scoff of a laugh. "You did well out there by the way – to say you've been out of action for ten years."

"Not really," Valkyrie muttered "I'm really out of practise."

"Is that so?" Tanith said with a sly grin "Well, we have time. Do you want to go a few rounds?"

"Kenspeckle said I have to rest my leg."

"Since when have you ever done what you're told?" Valkyrie smiled slightly with the breath of a laugh. Had she really changed that much? Well, if she had, then she'd just have to change back.

"Alright then," she smiled, and Tanith grinned at her, clapping her on the back.

"Good, let's go."

* * *

She ducked under the sword swipe, dodged the boot striking towards her ribs, blocked a punch as she span t her feet. Dodged, struck, kicked (with her good leg), span, ducked, blocked, dodged, struck. Tanith still ended up pinning her to the floor.

"You're not as rusty as you thought you were." Tanith grinned. Valkyrie pushed her off.

"That's just combat, though. I've kept up with that every so often. It's my magic I'm rusty on."

"Val, you can't just _get_ _rusty_ at magic. It's a part of you."

"But I didn't go through the Surge."

"Who cares? You managed to summon flames, didn't you?"

"A small one."

"Right, and China told me you tried to push the air against Vile. That worked, right?"

"I guess."

"So what are you worrying about?" _Well to be honest Tanith I'm worried about re-awakening the absolute psychopath living in my brain if I use too much magic – but I'm also worried that I might not get Skulduggery back, who is Lord Vile by the way, if I don't use that amount of magic._

"Guess I'm just being paranoid." Valkyrie smiled slightly, but it wasn't a pleased smile, more of a… thoughtful smile. Tanith sighed, running her hand through her hair and holstering her sword.

"I didn't hurt you too badly did I?" She asked, just to be sure.

"No." Valkyrie replied honestly. Tanith hadn't hurt her at all. The few punches Tanith landed were absorbed by her clothing, as was the impact when she was tackled to the ground.

"We should probably be getting back. China will have finished with Fletcher ages ago." Valkyrie nodded as Tanith stretched and sighed. They had been training for over an hour, maybe even two.

Tanith led the way out of the room and they walked into the corridor. It had been a long first day back, and the sun wasn't even going down. It was almost as if someone had planned out her day for her just to make it as messed up as possible. Everything was just happening so fast. It just wasn't fair. It just wasn't.

She didn't voice her complaints as they walked down the corridor, past cleavers and mages, ignoring as many as possible. She seemed to be spending a lot of time either in the council room or avoiding people she didn't know (and didn't particularly like, being honest). It was… uncomfortable, being back, but only because everyone kept staring at her whenever she passed them. Tanith didn't seem to notice.

China didn't appear to be waiting for them when they reached the council room. She was sat in her chair, like the court judge at a trial. Her hands were folded in front of her mouth, her eyes deep in thought. She looked up when they walked in.

"What is it?" She asked sourly.

"Ghastly called," Tanith said seriously. _Yeah, like two hours ago_. "They haven't found anything except the Bentley in Bantry. No sign of Skulduggery."

"None at all?"  
"No."

"Tell them to keep looking."

"They are." Tanith nodded, and China was silent again. She rubbed her palms together and exhaled through her nose. She was silent for a moment, then her eyes glanced to Valkyrie and lingered on her. Valkyrie tired to keep eye contact, but against China Sorrows, it was impossible. Still, even when her own eyes shifted to Tanith to avoid China's gaze, she could feel the eyes of the Grand Mage on her. Then, after what felt like an age, they moved.

"I've posted several groups of mages and cleavers around the city limits. They're instructed to report back every five minutes on the dot using a pager. If a group doesn't respond, we assume they're dead and Vile's responsible. Be ready to be called into action at any given moment." She paused "You can go now." Tanith nodded, and Valkyrie did the same, following her out. They closed the doors behind them, and Tanith sighed.

"Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"Depends. Where do you want to go?"

"Home." Valkyrie said without realising it, and Tanith looked to her, not moving. A few moments of silence passed between them.

"You know, you don't have to be here… not if you don't want to be."

"What choice do I have?" Valkyrie muttered.

"You always have a choice." Valkyrie scoffed.

"Since when?"  
"You chose to leave, didn't you? You could have chosen to stay, but you didn't. You didn't have to come back, but you did. There's always a choice." Valkyrie said nothing, so Tanith continued "Val, I get that you have a family now, and you're probably worried sick about them, I get that, I do. I know that you didn't want to come back, we all did. We all knew how much magic was to you, to give it all up… we knew you were serious. We wouldn't have called on you if we didn't need you, but you were always a long-shot. It was 50/50 if you'd say yes or no, we knew there was always the possibility you wouldn't come in. We did have a back-up plan for if you didn't show up."

"And what was the plan?" She asked.

"Pretty much what we're doing now, except, without your influence over Skulduggery bringing him back here."

"It won't work." Valkyrie said automatically.

"What makes you so sure?" There was a moment of silence.

"I just know." She started walking, and heard Tanith sigh behind her before catching up.

"I saw China looking at you. Any idea what that was about?"

"None." Valkyrie muttered. "I'm going back to the library. Come and find me if we're called." She split off from Tanith, walking down a separate corridor. Tanith didn't try to follow.

The library was musty and old, not like Gordon's library which was sophisticated and experienced. Still, it was quiet, and pretty much deserted. She sat at a table and put her head in her hands, covering her eyes. Why was everything so complicated? She longed for her warm bed, or to be curled up on the sofa with a blanket, her children and husband by her side. They _were_ her life now. There was no changing that. She loved them with all her heart. But magic had to have a place in there too, it just kept squeezing and tugging and bustling into her life, resistant to the test of time. Magic was in her blood. She couldn't escape it. Was there really any point in trying? She thought of her children's faces, and decided, yes, yes there was.

She lifted her head back up and sighed, moving her hands in front on her mouth as China had done. It was just so…surreal.

She heard the door to the library open and tried not to look at whoever had come through the door. They seemed to want to see her though. They sat down directly across from her at the table.

"Valkyrie?" She glanced up and saw that it was Fletcher who was watching her. She moved her hands to her lap slowly.

"What is it Fletcher?" She asked smoothly.

"Tanith asked me to come and talk to you."

"Did she now?" Valkyrie muttered.

"Are you alright? Really?" She sighed.

"I don't know. Yes."

"I'm not convinced."

"Neither am I." They were silent for a few minutes until Valkyrie sighed without realising.

"So, what's happened since I left?" She asked, purely to start conversation and end the awkward silence. It wasn't often Fletcher was silent willingly.

"Tanith and Ghastly already brought you up to date."

"I mean with you. I heard you got engaged, had a kid."  
"Yeah, yeah I did." He seemed to be debating something in his mind for a moment before he answered "I was twenty-two when I met Jade out in Africa, back when I was on a mission there. She was working as a healer on a gap year out there. She's originally from Galway on the west coast of Ireland."

"Small world."

"Yup. Anyway when she finished her year there she came back and started working for the Sanctuary and we started dating." Fletcher shrugged "I realised she was the one for me and asked her to marry me on our two year anniversary. A few months later she found out she was pregnant, so we kind of postponed the wedding, and we kind of just, haven't gotten around to it yet."

"A little boy, right?"

"Yeah."

"What's he called?"

"Trouble," Fletcher joked, laughing slightly "No, we called him Alexander, after Jade's dad. He'll pick a taken name when he's older."

"Alexander. Alex for short?"

"Yeah. He's five now."

"Same age as my daughter." Fletcher practically fell off his chair.

"_You_ have a kid!" Valkyrie nodded.

"Two, actually. Both girls."

"Who's the dad?"

"Are you trying to imply something?"

"No, I want to know who this guy is. Was it a one-night stand or something?" Valkyrie kicked him under the table.

"No. For your information, the father both times was my husband, and I haven't been with anyone else at all." Fletcher nearly fell of his chair… again.

"You're _married_!"

"I don't get why that's so shocking."

"Well, you always seemed so… independent."

"I can be independent and married."

"It just, doesn't sound like you."

"That's because I'm not Valkyrie back home. I'm Stephanie. My family is mortal."

"They don't know about any of this?"

"No, and they're not going to know. Ever."

"You're playing a dangerous game."

"Don't you think I know that? I worry about them every minute of every day. I'm constantly thinking there's someone or something going to jump out and snatch them away from me. I've _tried_ putting this behind me. I've even tried to convince myself that this place never existed, that it was all just some dream or fantasy. But I can't. I'm… I'm torn. Do I belong in the mortal world, or the magic world?" There was another moment of silence.

"I don't know, Val. I can't answer that for you. It's something you have to decide for yourself. But whatever you do chose, you know we're all here for you. Tanith, Ghastly, Skulduggery…me." He stood, pushing the chair under the table, and sighed. "Well, at least I can tell Jade to stop worrying."  
"What she worrying about?"

"She thinks you're going to try to get me bac-"

"Nope."

"You didn't even let me finish my sentence!"

"You didn't need to finish it. You can tell Jade that I'm in a happy relationship of my own and I do not want to even try to get you back."

"That hurt, right here." He said, patting his heart. Valkyrie rolled her eyes, but smiled slightly before looking back at the table. She needed some time alone. Some time to think.

"Anyway, I'll see you later." Fletcher said, and Valkyrie nodded, before he left. She needed to get out. Just for a breath of air. Just to clear her cluttered head.

She waited for a few moments until she was sure Fletcher was gone, and walked out of the library. She knew the way she had come in, so she followed it. Through the corridors, past the council room, more corridors, more rooms, more corridors, until that final door, flanked by two cleavers who didn't even look her way when she walked past them out of the door. Then there were the stairs. Going up them seemed a lot harder than going down them, as if a part of her was clinging onto the Sanctuary door for life screaming '_don't go!_', but she had to. Just for a little while.

She walked through the hidden door to the abandoned house, and then left that as well. The air was chilly, the sun beginning to dip in the sky, casting rays of golden streaks to glint against pink clouds.

She zipped her jacket up all the way and stuffed her hands in her pockets, beginning to walk down the path. She didn't pass many people, but kept her head down anyway. She didn't want to be recognised by a passing car.

Eventually, long after she had lost track of the time, she reached her spot. Well, it was _their_ spot, really. The park where she and John had spent their first anniversary (a picnic which then turned into a water fight in the pond/lake). It was a fond memory she held close to her heart. Her first year of married life over and done, celebrated in the simplest, yet still very romantic, of ways.

She entered the park and sat on a bench that overlooked the pond/lake – they had called it that as neither of them knew which one it was, a pond or a lake. It was relatively big, bigger than the average pond, but not as big as a lake. So therefore, it was a pond/lake.

She felt a light breeze tug at her hair, and her ears quivered as the slightest of sounds snuck up on them.

"I know you're there," she said quietly, calmly. "I recognise the footsteps." She turned her head slightly to look behind her as she spoke. The shadows contorted and twisted at their master's feet as he stood, still and stone cold, less than 3 metres away from the back of the bench. Lord Vile was watching. Valkyrie didn't turn her head away.

"You always were light on your feet."


	6. 6 - Lord Vile or Skulduggery?

The wind seemed to drop as suddenly as it had come. Vile didn't move. Valkyrie turned her head away from him to look straight forwards.

"I'm tired of all this," she muttered "and you, better than anyone else, should understand why. You would have done anything to keep your family alive, right? Well, Skulduggery would have anyway. I know he would. That's all I'm trying to do – keep my family safe. So why? Why all this? Was this, all deliberate, just to try to get me back to the Sanctuary, or is there something I'm missing. Was it not about me at all, in which case I sound really selfish saying all this, but I thought you understood." Her voice trailed off, and she turned her head around to look at him again.

"I know you're in there Skulduggery. Hiding in that armour won't do any good." Vile did nothing. "Unless Skulduggery's not in there anymore, and you're just Vile now. If that's the case then go ahead and kill me." Still he didn't move. "Go on, prove to me that you're only Vile now." Her eyes had hardened, her mouth a grim line. The shadows bubbled around Vile like tar, but made no move towards her. She scoffed slightly.

"Exactly," she muttered. She turned her head away again and sighed, taking off her hat and running a hand through her hair. "Do you really want to do this, Skulduggery? Is it really worth it? I know you always liked being an elemental, you were always saying it was better than necromancy. And what about all your friends? Ghastly's out right now looking for you, did you know that? Ghastly, Dexter, Donegan and Gracious are all in Bantry looking for you. The Sanctuary needs you. They even called me back just to try and get you." She picked up her hat and looked at it.

"You gave me this, remember? On the train to Hogwarts." She put it back on. "But I guess that doesn't matter anymore, right?" She stood and sighed, looking up at the sky.

"You know, I used to wish I could come back, to see you all again, and just have things go back to how they were. I didn't want to leave. Mum and dad thought I was really ill for the first few weeks because I just wouldn't do anything. I'd just sit in my room and cry. And then I realised that I couldn't come back, and I remembered why I'd left in the first place, and I moved on, but I never forgot you. Not for one second." She lowered her head back down and sighed again, and then started to walk away before she heard a light footstep behind her. Just the one.

"You're not going to leave without saying goodbye, are you?" She turned to the velvety voice just in time to see the last of the shadows dissipating away like smoke. His suit was slightly torn at the edges, hat crooked on his skull, gloved hands by his sides.

"Not in a million years," Valkyrie breathed with a slight smile before she ran over and collided into a hug with him. Then she let go, and punched him in the ribs.

"Don't you ever ever _ever_ do that again!" She shook her hand "And now you've made my hand hurt!" She sighed in mock annoyance. "You really are hopeless without me."

"Naturally."

"Really?"

"No."

"Oh ha ha. You might want to put your façade on."

"It is a very handsome face."

"Actually there are cars passing by. It would be pretty weird if they saw me talking to a skeleton."  
"So not because it's handsome?"

"Is it?"

"I am officially offended."

"Tough." It was getting dark now, the last of the sun's rays disappearing from the sky. "Everyone's expecting you to be in Bantry. It would be a bit suspicious if you turned up right where Vile left off."  
"Mmm," Skulduggery said in agreement "I'll be there by morning." He tapped his collar bone and his façade melted onto his face (blonde hair and brown eyes).

"What happened?" Valkyrie asked quietly. Skulduggery didn't answer for a moment.

"It's good to have you back," he said, finally.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Does it really need an answer?"

"Considering you nearly killed Saracen, yes, I think it does." She said defiantly. Of course, starting an argument hadn't been the top on her list of things to do when she met Skulduggery again, but he wasn't exactly helping. He was still quiet, and didn't move very much – then again, he didn't need to breathe, so absolute stillness must have come naturally to him.

"Everyone has their low moments," he replied eventually, slowly, as if Valkyrie might not understand – but who would understand that better than her? "It's not exactly easy working without a partner."

"You could get a new partner."

"I could, but you know I wouldn't."

"Well then that's your own fault, isn't it, for being too stubborn."

"You're being very hypocritical, you know."

"I'm allowed to be hypocritical," Valkyrie retorted "You nearly killed us."

"For which I am very sorry."

"You should be," Valkyrie said, folding her arms. Skulduggery tilted his head at her, and smiled slightly.

"You don't look a day older than when you left."

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't would I."

"Not if you didn't still have magic in you, no."

"_Don't_ try to make this about me coming back."

"I'm not making this anything."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No I'm not. I wouldn't encourage you to put your family in danger."

"Then what was all this about, huh?"

"I told you, everyone has their low moments."

"So what, like me and her?" Skulduggery was silent "Look, if I didn't know any better I'd say it was almost like you tried to kill yours-" her voice drifted off with realisation. "Oh God you didn't did you? Jesus Skulduggery!" She punched him again. "What the hell were you thinking?! How is that even possible if you're already dead anyway?! Dear God!" She smacked him again, and then put her hands on her head and hyperventilated for about thirty seconds. Then punched him again, and then moved away and sat back down on the bench, muttering to herself. After a moment, he joined her.

"What the hell were you thinking?" She asked quietly "And don't you dare say 'everyone has their low moments' or I will hit you again." A low breeze picked up, just enough to rustle the few remaining leaves on the trees and make the surface of the pond/lake ripple with the slight disturbance.

"I wasn't really thinking much of anything at the time," he replied quietly "It's just been a bad few years."

"That's no excuse," Valkyrie muttered to herself "Promise me you won't try to do that again."

"I promise."

"I _mean it_, Skulduggery."

"I know. I promise."

"Good," Valkyrie sighed. "Have things really been that bad?"

"Mmm." Skulduggery nodded once, sharply, and Valkyrie sighed again. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Well," Valkyrie muttered "that's certainly put a damper on the evening."

"Indeed."

"I should be getting back. I kind of left without telling anyone."

"You're still rebellious then?"

"Only a little bit."

"It's better than none at all."

"Well if I wasn't I wouldn't have come back in the first place would I?"

"I'd like to think you came back for my sake."

"You flatter yourself."  
"Do I?"

"Yup."

"I never realised." Valkyrie rolled her eyes at his comment and sighed again before standing.

"I'm going now. Get yourself to Bantry. I'll stay until everything's blown over." Skulduggery nodded, for once obedient – it was a strange thing to come back to, an obedient Skulduggery. Things must have been really bad. But if she stayed there all night either Tanith, Fletcher or China might realise she was gone. And that wouldn't be good. So she turned, and she left.

* * *

All eyes turned to the doors of the council room when they were flung open the next morning as Tanith practically ran inside.

"They've found Skulduggery!" She panted. China was immediately sat straight up with attention as Valkyrie feigned ignorance, acting in much the way Fletcher was.

"Where was he? Is he alright?" She asked quickly – she figured it would have been weird for her not to ask.

"They found him in Bantry, going back to the bloody Bentley. He's fine, from what Ghastly said. Fletcher, they want you to go back to the rendezvous point and pick them up."

"Fletcher, get them back as soon as you can," China ordered before turning her head back to Tanith "You're sure?"

"Positive," Tanith nodded.

"What had he been doing?"

"Ghastly said something about tracking another lead in the case, but that was about all I got." Tanith responded quickly as Fletcher teleported away. Valkyrie saw China sit back slightly, and then Fletcher was back, Ghastly on one arm, Skulduggery on the other, and then disappeared again for the others.

"So," China said "you took your time."

"I didn't realise I was needed." Skulduggery said smoothly, not looking in Valkyrie's direction.

"We tried calling you."

"My phone was smashed by the suspect – something he paid for quite dearly, I can assure you." Fletcher was back again, with Dexter, Donegan and Gracious.

"I'm not very good with big objects, but I'll try to get the Bentley back over here." Fletcher said to Skulduggery, who nodded.

"As long as you don't scratch it." Fletcher rolled his eyes, and disappeared.

"You're being pulled off the case." China said, almost not acknowledging Fletcher had spoken at all, or that there were three more people in the room. "I assume Ghastly's told you why."

"He briefly explained." Skulduggery nodded "You really think it's Lord Vile?"

"We _know_ it's Vile. We saw him. Myself, Tanith, Saracen, and Valkyrie." This time Skulduggery did turn his head in Valkyrie's direction, and she shuffled uncomfortably on the spot.

"Really?" He said, and then turned back to China "And you all made it out alive?"

"A few cuts and bruises." China replied. _That's putting it mildly_. "But at any rate, we're tracking him, and getting closer. Unfortunately, we think he's heading here."

"To Dublin in general, or just to the Sanctuary?"

"Maybe both. He was last spotted in Carlow – that was where we saw him. After that he's pretty much vanished. But he'll show up again. And then we make our move."

"Sounds like a plan." Skulduggery agreed. China nodded, and Fletcher reappeared with a grin on his face.

"Did it." He said proudly "Parked right outside and waiting."

"Right, go and sort yourselves out. There'll be a briefing in half an hour." China said, and everyone nodded. Valkyrie saw Tanith grin at Skulduggery before she turned and went out of the doors. Tanith followed her, and pulled at her arm, making her turn to her.

"Where are you going?" Tanith asked. Valkyrie shrugged.

"Skulduggery's back now. You have everything you need to find and take down Vile. I'm going home."

"But, I thought you were staying."

"Wasn't it you who said I always had a choice." Tanith bit her lip "Look, if Vile shows up again, and you need me, then I'll come in. But I have to make sure my family is alright."

"Well, how are you going to get there? You can't walk, you might be seen by someone who knows you, or, the mortal you anyway."

"I'll drive her." A voice said from behind Tanith, and each of them looked to Skulduggery. "We have a lot of catching up to do anyway."

After a moment, Tanith nodded, turned, and hugged Valkyrie.

"Stay safe." She said solemnly, making Valkyrie's heart pang – she was abandoning her 'sister' again.

"Well if Fletcher's true to his word then the Bentley should be right outside." Valkyrie nodded slowly, and Skulduggery began walking. She fell into pace next to him, just like old times, and they walked the corridors in what would have once been a comfortable silence. Now, to Valkyrie, it seemed rather awkward.

The air outside was chilly, beckoning the winter, the sleek Bentley parked like an elegant black swan in a seemingly unwelcoming crummy neighbourhood.

Skulduggery unlocked the car, and it almost felt like they were on a case again, off in the Bentley to face some disturbing murder scene and catch a murderous psychotic criminal. She got in the passenger seat, and found he hadn't changed from her liking. He got in the drivers seat and rested his gloved hands on the wheel before turning on the ignition. The familiar sound of the engine's purr was both beautiful music, and very unwanted beautiful music.

"I have to go back." Valkyrie muttered, not so much to Skulduggery as to herself "They need me."

"I know." Skulduggery replied as he pulled out onto the road.

"It's not just my parents now, though. I – I'm married. With kids. I, I can't abandon them."

"I knew you were married." Skulduggery nodded "However the thought of you as a mother is rather bizarre."

"Hey!"

"Not in a bad way. It's just rather strange to think of you at that age."

"I did send you an invitation to the wedding, you know."

"I know. I went."

"You did?"  
"I did. You looked stunning by the way."

"Thanks," Valkyrie said "Where were you sat? I didn't see you."

"Right at the back in the far right hand corner. I'm sorry to say it was deliberately so you wouldn't see me."

"Why?"

"I didn't want to spoil your day."

"You could never have spoiled my wedding day." He tilted his skull towards her with an expression of almost 'are you serious?' plastered across it, even though it couldn't physically change shape. "Ok you may have found some way to make things a little weird, like if a criminal had crashed into the alter or something, but you just being there wouldn't have spoiled it."

"No?"  
"No. To be honest I was a bit sad when I thought you hadn't shown up. Know I know you were there, that makes it seem all that more special." She smiled slightly.

"Good to know." He said as they passed a set of traffic lights, tapping his façade with one hand so it melted into place the moment they moved into a public area. "I wasn't aware you had had children though."

"Yeah, two girls."

"Am I allowed to know names?"

"As long as they're not mentioned anywhere near the Sanctuary, yes. My youngest is called Lucia, and my eldest is called Carol."

"After your cousin?"

"Yeah. It felt right."

"You weren't to blame for that, you know." Valkyrie scoffed.

"I'm the _only_ one to blame for that, Skulduggery. If I hadn't introduced her to magic, or gotten closer to her at all, the reflection wouldn't even have thought about her."

"You don't know that."

"I do. Because if I had still hated them, then _I_ wouldn't have thought about them either." Valkyrie paused "But at any rate, that's all done now."

"So, how old are Carol and Lucia?"

"Carol is five and Lucia is two."

"Carol's the same age as Alex then."

"Yeah, Fletcher said." Valkyrie nodded. It seemed like she'd only been out of the Sanctuary for two minutes, and then they were pulling onto her drive. She had suspected Skulduggery knew her new address. Now she was sure.

She could tell Skulduggery was looking at the house and trying to analyse what life she had picked for herself. It was a nice looking house. Simple.

"You can come inside, if you want." Valkyrie offered, not reaching for the door handle to let herself out.

"No, I don't think so. I've already imposed on your new life enough. Besides, it looks as if you have neighbours." Valkyrie scoffed.

"Well, you're not wrong."

"It was good to see you again, Valkyrie."

"It was good to see you again too." Valkyrie sighed, almost having an internal debate as to whether to actually get out of the car or not. But ultimately, she had to. She opened the door and let herself out.

"I'll see you later," she said half-heartedly. Skulduggery nodded.

"Bye Valkyrie."

"Bye Skulduggery." She shut the door and turned away, walking to her front door. She waved slightly as she unlocked the door, but couldn't tell through the dark windows whether he waved back or not. She went inside, and locked the door behind her, listening to the sound of the Bentley's engine start up again, the sound of tyres of the gravel as they pulled out of the drive, and disappeared down the road.

She sighed, and took another step into her home.

Thick hands wrapped around her throat and pushed her backwards to pin her up against the door. For a moment she was too much in shock to realise what was happening, and then as she realised the air was being strangled out of her, her instincts and training took over and she kicked out to land a hard boot in whoever-it-was's groin. He howled, and the hands were removed from her throat as she gasped for air, her vision slightly fuzzy. There was a growl.

A punch struck her stomach, and she grunted, rolled and dodged as her sight came back into focus, and the face of her attacker came into view. It was one of the mages from the Sanctuary, one of the ones who had stared at her whilst talking to a friend or colleague. He tried to throw a punch, but she blocked, grabbed his arm, twisted it until she heard a snap and a holler.

_How dare he_.

She stuck out her leg, caught him in the back of the knee as she pulled him around, driving him to the ground.

_Come into _my_ home._

She slammed his head into the ground. Once. Twice. He groaned.

_Where my _children_ live!_

She released him, let him roll onto his back, then plunged her boot into his stomach in a hard stamp, making his body curl up in the foetal position. She pulled out her gun, lined it up to his head as he glanced up at her, his nose a pile of blood and cartilage, not caring that it wasn't silenced.

"Bad move." She muttered, and pulled the trigger. The sound of the shot was louder than she had expected. Attacking her while she worked for the Sanctuary was one thing. Attacking her in her home now she was living a mortal life – that was another.

The blood began to ooze onto the carpet, but all Valkyrie could think about was the fact people knew where she lived. Whether or not they knew she had a husband or children she dreaded to think. She _knew_ going back to the Sanctuary was a bad idea. She just _knew_. And now what had she done? She'd lead them right to her again. Right into a mess, a heap or trouble. And she'd dragged her family along with her.

She drew the curtains, put her hat down on the table, and dragged the body out of the doorway. It wasn't murder. It was self-defence. The fact she was now putting the body into a bin liner and lifting it into the rubbish bin in the back garden waiting to be put out on bin day, was merely a precaution. She couldn't be seen from her back garden, which was something she liked.

She went back inside and cleaned the blood as best she could. It was a shame they had put in a light coloured carpet, but she could clean it up. As long as she managed it before the blood was dry at least. Otherwise it would become a problem.

She calmly picked her hat up off the table and walked upstairs, getting changed from her protective clothing into jeans and a t-shirt, trying her hair back in a pony tail. She was analysing the reddening finger marks on her neck in the bathroom mirror when the front doorbell went. She hurried downstairs to get it, hoping it wasn't someone else trying to kill her. As it turned out, it was her next door neighbour.

"Mrs Cameron," Stephanie said with a slight calm smile, "how are you. You're looking well."

"I'm fine thank you, dear." Mrs Cameron replied. She was the oldest lady on the street, a partial busy body, but harmless compared to what she'd just been up against. "I actually thought I heard a strange noise. It's silly but it sounded like a gun-shot."

"From around here?" Stephanie asked, a very believable puzzled expression crossing her face. "Are you sure? I didn't hear anything."

"Really? I was sure I heard something."

"Well, I haven't heard anything sounding like that around here from anywhere else other than on the television. Are you sure you didn't just overhear someone's TV or something?" Mrs Cameron gave her a confused glance, and then a look of self-puzzlement came across her face.

"I'm going mad, I swear."

"Is there anything else you need, Mrs Cameron. It's just that I'm kind of busy."

"Oh, no no, dear. Sorry to bother you."

"No problem. Take care now."

"I will. Goodbye."

"Goodbye." Stephanie closed the door. Now she was lying to poor old ladies. Whatever next?


	7. 7 - Back Home

**Hi guys. I'm sorry I haven't updated for a while, but it's not been a good week. My pet was put to sleep on Monday, which was coincidentally the day I had planned to update. This was obviously very very very devestating, and I couldn't focus on anything. So basically I haven't written anything since Sunday night, as because of Monday and Wednesday (which was the day we buried him) my homework piled up, and I ended up kind of having a bit of a mental breakdown. But I'm ok now, everything's sorted, I've caught back up, and my homework is (mostly) done, so I got back to writing. Subsequently, this chapter isn't as long as I wanted, but I'll try to get another one up A.S.A.P.**

**This chapter is dedicated to my good freind Iona who definitely did not threaten me to put her in the story. Definitely not. No threatening at all. Yup. **

**It's also dedicated to Nibbler. R.I.P baby. We love you.**

* * *

John pulled up onto his in-laws drive and turned off the ignition of the car. He sat in his seat for a few moments, hands rested on the steering wheel, thoughts swirling around his head: figures, contracts, details, but what dominated all of them was the fact his wife was god-knows-where doing god-knows-what. The night before when he had come home from work, his daughters had asked his where their mummy was. What was he supposed to say? 'Sorry girls, but I have no idea'?

He felt his hands clench slightly on the steering wheel, remembering Stephanie's face as she told him to trust her, told him everyone was leaving, that the house would be empty, walked past him without a glance to put the bags in the hallway.

He pulled the keys out of the car and opened the door, shutting it behind him and locking the car with a sigh. He walked up to the front door and opened it, putting his briefcase in the doorway. He walked through into the living room and stopped dead in his tracks.

Stephanie was sat on the sofa, reading a book as their daughters leant up against her, eyes keen and alert, completely absorbed in the story, a scene of utter bliss. His father-in-law was sat at the table reading the paper, his mother-in-law sat on the other sofa drinking what looked like coffee. Stephanie's eyes flickered up to him, and she smiled slightly.

"Hi love. How was work?"

"Urgh…" was all he could say, and she smiled a little more before continuing with the story. Melissa looked to him.

"Would you like some coffee?" She asked.

"Um, no thank you Melissa." He said, and walked further into the living room, sitting down awkwardly. Lucia yawned.

"I think someone's tired." Stephanie smiled at her daughter, who rubbed her eyes, then looked at him. "You ready to go home?"

"Yeah." He replied "Sure. Thanks for letting us stay, Melissa."

"Anytime. I love spoiling my grandchildren." She said gently. Stephanie stood, picking Lucia up and handed the book to Carol.

"The bags are behind the sofa. Would you mind getting them?" Stephanie aksed him, and he nodded, standing. He picked up the bags and followed Stephanie out of the front door, putting the children in the car, and then watched her as she went back to her parents and kissed each of them goodbye, and then waited for Alice to come down the stairs, and then kiss and hug her goodbye. It was a curious scene. Usually when they were due to leave a visit, they just waved and left, like they'd only be gone for a few minutes, yet Stephanie was almost making a subtle scene of it.

She got in the passenger seat of the car, and John put the bags in the back of the car before he got in the driver's seat, waving at his in-laws as they drove away towards their own home. He didn't dare say anything in the car, out of the fear of starting an argument in front of the girls. So he stayed quiet until he pulled onto their own drive, entered the house and put the girls to bed. That was when he joined Stephanie in the living room.

"So," he said "are you going to tell me where you went?"

"No." She said, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"Why not?"

"You don't need to know, that's why."

"_I_ don't need to know? Steph you disappeared."

"I was only gone for one day."

"Doesn't matter," he said, feeling his temples begin to pulse. "You need to tell me what happened."

"I don't _need_ to tell you anything." She said, her eyes turning hard "I was gone and now I'm back. Everything's sorted. So stop asking questions."

"Everything is not 'sorted' because you're still keeping me in the dark! What is it that you don't want me to know? Because I'll find out eventually, so you might as well just say it now!" She looked to him, almost coldly.

"It's none of your concern." She said stonily, and moved past him to go upstairs. He blocked her way.

"Stephanie what is going on?!"

"Nothing!"

"Is it someone else?"

"No!"

"How can I know you're telling the truth if you don't tell me where you were?" She pushed past him.

"It's none of your business Johnathan! Can't I have a little privacy?!" She stormed upstairs and he heard a door slam. What was it that she couldn't tell him? Weren't he and their daughters good enough for her? What else did she want? What else could she need? They were well off, happy, no financial difficulties. At least, he'd thought they had been.

* * *

Stephanie was awake to watch the sun rise. John's side of the bed was empty. She knew he had slept on the sofa downstairs. They had never had a fight as big as this one, or as important. She knew it wasn't fair to keep him in the dark, but what else could she do? She couldn't tell him, and if she lied he'd know and get even more suspicious. But to suggest she had cheated on him! Didn't he know her better than that? _Well if he doesn't know anything about Valkyrie, then how well _does_ he know you_?

She moved from the bed and took a shower, the warm water waking up her skin. When she had finished, she got dressed, discarded her latest manuscript that was due for an editorial check, and went downstairs. She needed to take a walk. She passed her husband, who was indeed asleep on the sofa, and didn't wake him. She took her keys and put on her shoes, locking the front door behind her as she left. She'd have to be back to take the girls to school, after all it was only Thursday. Not even a week gone by that she had first been contacted by Ghastly, yet it felt so long ago. She'd only said goodbye (again) to Skulduggery the day before. How surreal.

The air was chilly, the sun not yet having the chance to warm everything up. Without a car it took nearly an hour to walk to the park with the pond/lake. It would take her nearly an hour to walk back, maybe a bit less if she jogged. She sat on the bench and sighed. Vile wouldn't be behind her this time. Skulduggery was probably already at the Sanctuary, back to work as usual.

A few people passed her, on casual morning strolls. She doubted any of them had problems as big as hers. She zoned out, ignoring the chattering voices and occasional squealing laughs, until a voice spoke up to her.

"Valkyrie?" She looked up, prepared to punch the lights out of a possible attacker, before a grinning face came into view.

"Seamus?" She allowed herself to relax a little, and stood to hug him. "Hi! I haven't seen you in ages. How are you?"

"I'm fine," Seamus grinned "Just out on a morning stroll with Iona."

"Iona?"

"My girlfriend," he explained with a nod of his head, and a young woman scurried over to him, giggling. She was blonde, with sea green eyes and a broad smile, a small bump over her stomach.

"Oh my God," she grinned "Valkyrie Cain! I never thought I'd see you again."

"Yeah, small world." Stephanie said with a slightly confused smile. Did she know this person? Iona laughed.

"You don't remember me, do you? I was a fourth year at Hogwarts when you came to teach."

"Oh, yeah, I remember you now," Valkyrie lied slightly. The name 'Iona' rang a small bell somewhere in the back of her mind, but she wouldn't have recognised her. Most of the faces from Hogwarts had melted away into the back of her mind, with the obvious few still vivid.

"Is there any ice-cream around here?" Iona said suddenly, almost dreamily.

"Um… you do know it's November, don't you?"

"Yeah, I just want some ice-cream."

"We'll pick some up on the way home." Seamus said to her, and she smiled. Stephanie recognised _that_ smile.

"Congratulations," she said, and Iona grinned at her.

"How'd you know?" She asked.

"Detective, remember?" Iona laughed slightly, and Seamus grinned.

"How far are you gone?" Stephanie asked "If you don't mind me asking."

"Not at all," Iona smiled "I'm 4 months." Stephanie smiled, remembering her own experiences of pregnancy.

"Hey, we've been friends for ages, right?" Seamus said with a slight grin "How about you be the God-mother?"

"Not a good idea." Stephanie said immediately "I'm flattered and everything, but really, that's like the _worst_ idea I have ever heard." Seamus sighed with a smile, as if that was answer he expected.

"Well it was just a thought."

"How about we ask Dean?" Iona said to him.

"Dean can't be the God-mother."

"Not the God-mother, silly!" Iona said with a roll of her eyes "The God-father."  
"I was going to ask him this weekend where he and Sarah come over for dinner."

"Oh, good idea. Ooh!" Something suddenly caught Iona's eye, and she waved at someone. "I'm just going to go and see Giorgia, I need to talk to her."

"Ok, take your time." Seamus said, and she pecked him on the cheek before scurrying off to see her friend.

"She seems… bubbly." Stephanie said with a slight smile, Seamus grinned.

"She's great." He sat down on the bench, and Stephanie joined him. "She was in Ravenclaw back at Hogwarts. I asked her out just after the battle." Stephanie nodded – she had been told about the Battle of Hogwarts. She had been glad that Voldemort was finally dead. She would have gone and helped, but by that point she had given up magic for good, and she was in a relationship with John. It would have been an incredible mess if she had gotten involved.

"Have you thought of any names?"

"Sort of. Ewan if it's a boy, but we're not sure about a girl."

"Well Stephanie and Valkyrie are both great names." Seamus laughed.

"Is that so?"

"Well obviously. So are you just girlfriend and boyfriend, or are you married, or what?" He blushed slightly.

"Girlfriend and boyfriend at the minute, but I've been thinking about asking her, you know, popping the question."

"Aw, that's sweet." Stephanie smiled and Seamus laughed slightly.

"I'm glad someone thinks so. I'm not so good at romance and everything."  
"I'm sure it'll go fine."

"I hope so." They looked up at the sound of laughing and saw Iona and her dark haired friend in fits of laughter, both grinning.

"Anyway, I'd best say hello to Giorgia, otherwise I'll never hear the end of it. We were supposed to be back home ages ago, really. I didn't want her out in the cold at all to be honest, but Iona is very persuasive."

"I'll bet." Stephanie said as Seamus stood up from the bench. "Hey, Seamus?"  
"Yeah?"

"You'd do anything to keep Iona and your kid safe, right?"

"Yeah, of course." He answered with a puzzled look.

"Even if it meant leaving?"

"Well, yeah, if it meant they were safe. What's more important than family, right?" He said with a shaky smile, as if he wasn't sure that was the answer he was supposed to be giving. "Why?"

"No reason." She replied "Well, I'll see you later. Good luck." Seamus laughed uneasily.

"I'll need it." Stephanie smiled at him.

"You'll be a great dad."

"You think?"

"I know." There was a pause.

"Thanks Valkyrie."

"No problem." He smiled a slight 'bye' at her, and returned to his girlfriend. Stephanie stood from the bench, and began to walk back towards her house.

It took her less time to get back than it had done to get to the park. She walked through the door with 5 minutes to spare before she was due to wake up Lucia and Carol. She tried to be quiet, but there was no need. John stood, facing the door, a stony look on his face.

"Morning," Stephanie said, feigning pleasantness.

"Where were you?" He asked bluntly.

"I went for a walk. Needed some fresh air."

"I thought you'd left again."

"Well I didn't, did I?"

"You should have left a note."

"I didn't think I'd be out as long as I was."

"You should have left a note."

"Ok, fine, I'll leave a note next time." She locked the door and walked past him.

"Where are you going now?" He asked.

"I have to wake the girls up for school. And you have to go to work. So I suggest you get dressed."


	8. 8 - Decisions

**Hi guys. I'll leave the chit-chat for the end of this chapter. Be sure to check it out. After you read what I have installed for you. BWHAHAHAHAHAHA *cough***

* * *

Stephanie wasn't sure whether she was having a mid-life crisis – albeit it a very early one, considering she was supposed to live for a very _very_ long time, hundreds of years at least. That was something she hadn't thought about when she'd left – how much magic had already affected her. She didn't even remember about the slow-aging process until she reached twenty-five and someone had pointed out that she looked like a teenager. Now, as she sat in a rocking chair in Lucia's room, listening to the steady and rhythmic breathing of her youngest daughter, she wondered how long it would be before she and John were both in their forties, with her still looking eighteen. Then eighty. Then what? Surely the magic wouldn't last that long… right? She was the last (sort-of) magic practising descendant of the ancients. Where did that put her?

Lucia whined softly in her sleep before settling back down, and Stephanie looked to her sleeping figure. John wasn't on the sofa anymore, but she didn't have the guts to go back into the bedroom, where she knew he was. Would he be asleep or awake? Would he ask her more questions if he was awake? Would she be able to get any sleep at all, just lying there wondering about everything?

She'd made a mess of her life, that was for sure. When everything was supposed to be coming together, it was falling apart, and the worst part was she could physically _see_ it falling apart around her. It seemed like there would always be the endless void of questions, lies and secrets. How long would she keep brooding like this? Days? weeks? Years? Her entire life (however long or short that may be)? She wished she was as blissfully unaware as her children. Life was so much simpler as a child.

She rocked herself slightly in the rocking chair, as if to lull herself to sleep – but she knew there would be no chance of that tonight. Last night hadn't been good. With some much fresh magic in her system, she'd risked a re-awakening. She was almost scared that if she let her guard down, even for a minute, Darquesse's voice would resume its taunting in the back of her mind. It had been hard enough to get Darquesse to 'sleep' in the first place – Stephanie knew there was no chance of her ever _really_ going, but there was also no chance of Darquesse resuming control either – well, not unless Stephanie's life was suddenly put in mortal danger, and she'd tried very hard to stay away from mortal danger, as any sane person in her situation would.

Stephanie pushed aside the thoughts of Darquesse, and moved onto thoughts about Seamus, and his new family. He said he would have done anything for Iona and his child. He knew what she'd been through. He was one of the first non-sorcerers to know. He was her neighbour after all, or, had been before the fire. And he had contact with Harry and the others. They needed to know to, and Seamus had told them, as he promised he would. But, back to the main point, was Stephanie willing to do anything to keep her family safe? Or was she just being selfish again? That decision she had made, had it been the wrong one? Maybe, it should have been the other way around, the whole time. Maybe it would have been better if she'd just disappeared. Gone with the Sanctuary instead of the mortals. Was it too late to change that?

She thought of everything she had at the Sanctuary: a few good friends, a job, a reputation, and of course, Skulduggery. And she thought of what she had at home: two gorgeous children, a loving husband (mostly), and a flexible career in novel writing. She loved her family with all her heart. But that didn't answer her question, was it _because_ she loved her family that she should go, or was it because she loved them that she should stay? It was all just so confusing. Why were the difficult choices always hers to make?

She sat in the chair and rocked slowly, thinking silently, until the clocks ticked past the hour of three in the morning. Then she stood, and the answer, was clear in her mind.

* * *

John wasn't ready for his daughter to wake him up that morning.

"Daddy," Carol said impatiently, nudging his arm "Daddy, wake up."

"What is it?" he murmured. His head pounded, limbs heavy.

"I have to go to school, Daddy," Carol replied innocently.

"What do you mean?" he yawned "Mummy's taking you this morning."

"But Mummy's not in bed." Carol answered, a puzzled expression on her face. His eyes flickered open tiredly, knowing Stephanie hadn't come to bed that night. He'd fallen asleep listening to the slow squeaks of the hinges on the rocking chair from Lucia's room. She'd stayed in there last night.

"She's in your sister's room," he muttered, burying his head further into the pillow.

"I looked there," Carol said impatiently "Mommy isn't in there."

"I'm sure she's just in the bathroom, Carol. Go and get ready for school and she'll be there soon."

"I am ready, Daddy. I was supposed to go to school five minutes ago." That made him look up.

"What?"

"Mommy didn't come to wake me up, so I got myself ready for school. But Mommy didn't make breakfast. And she didn't come downstairs. I looked everywhere, Daddy. I can't find her." John sat up in bed as his head thudded in protest. He looked to his daughter – that similar curvature of the chin, the shade of the brown hair, the wide, almost scared, eyes.

"Ok," he said, trying to hide the shake in his voice "you go to your room, and I'll get dressed and be in in a minute. I'm sure Mommy's just gone for a walk, that's all. Ok?"

"Ok Daddy," Carol replied, slightly warily, as if she knew something was wrong. She left the room, and as soon as the door shut behind her, John flung himself out of bed, throwing on the nearest pair of jeans he could find and pulling on a t-shirt. _I'm sure everything's fine_, he said to himself, _Carol just didn't look hard enough, that's all_. He tried to hurry without looking like he was hurrying to Lucia's room. His youngest daughter was still in her crib, looking at him. She wasn't smiling as she usually was. Or laughing. Or even crying. She was just, stood there. The rocking chair was empty.

"Stephanie?" Jonathan called. "Steph?" No reply. He turned and checked the bathroom, then Carol's room, ignoring the way his daughter watched him from where she was sat on the edge of the bed, as if the whole world had suddenly gone silent. He hurried downstairs, calling his wife's name. There was still no answer. She wasn't in the living room, nor the kitchen. The only signs that the kitchen had been touched at all was where a chair stood pushed up against the counter, as if Carol had climbed up to try to reach the toaster or the cereals for her breakfast. He moved to the hallway, looked at the door. It was shut. His hands brushed his hair as he called out again, this time with more concern. He was about to turn away when he saw something white sticking out from under the door. He moved to it quickly, bent down and snatched it up. It was a small letter, no envelope, just a piece of paper, slightly torn at the edges. He looked at it.

_John_

_I don't know what I was thinking when I thought I could lead a normal life. It's obvious to me now that I can't. So I'm leaving, to make you all safe. And I'm never coming back. You'll never see me again. Take care of our girls. I know you can._

_I love you so, so much,_

_Stephanie_

_Please forgive me_

The door handle seemed to fly into his hand as he threw the door open, his voice ringing out into the early morning sky. Every head turned, every eye flickered, every heart clenched.

Stephanie Edgely was gone.

* * *

**Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.**

**A little shorter than I wanted, but, as a reader, whose name sadly escapes me (sorry, my memory's terrible) once said 'you and your damn cliffhangers'. I just love them. I apologise.**

**If you're thinking 'what the hell, what was the point to the ending of 'lending a helping hand' if she's just doing this anyway?', then, let me explain. EVERYTHING I do, I think about waaaay in advance, or at least, pretty much everything. So, this was PLANNNED, and has been for a ****_very_**** long time. And, you will see just why I needed the ending, and this ever so short first section of the story, in the next section, which will be not the next chapter, but the one after that I ****_think_****. Probably maybe.**

**So, be sure to leave a review, I would love to hear what you have to say about this little ending to the chapter. If you like, feel free to have a rant. I love knowing your opinions on how the story's going, and I can't wait to hear from you guys. Honestly your reviews just make my day, they really do. See you in the next chapter. XD**


	9. 9 - Tears

**So! This is the LAST CHAPTER of section 1. Section 2 will be up shortly, but try to consider these last nine chapters as a very long prologue to the actual story. :) I hope you enjoy, and thanks to all of you how commented on the last chapter, I loved reading them all, and I hope this chapter gets an equally big response. So be sure to leave a review and I'll be sure to post another chapter as fast as I can. Till then, enjoy!**

* * *

Stephanie had stood, looked to her sleeping daughter in the crib, and then walked over and kissed her gently on the cheek. She moved to Carol's room, and did the same, her body strangely automatic, as if her heart had gone stone cold. She recognised the feeling – it was grief. It was if she was kissing her babies goodbye forever, as if she were about to die. But, in their eyes, she was.

She slipped quietly into the master bedroom. John was asleep, his head buried into the pillow. She took her protective clothing quietly, emptied the drawer of socks and underwear, and slipped them into a bag before watching him for a moment, the way his chest rose and then dipped with a slight shudder, and then left the room. She got changed in the bathroom, placing her hat on her head with delicate care so that the shadows just covered her eyes, the way she had always liked it. The new clothes were still warm, as if permanently insulated, even though she hadn't worn them in two days. They held some familiarity, but now it was almost alien to be wearing them willingly.

The air downstairs seemed colder, less inviting. She tore a piece of paper off the notepad in the kitchen and scribbled a quick note. She tried not to pay attention to the way her arm shook as she wrote, the words scribbly and child-like. She took her key and unlocked the front door, putting the note on the floor so John would find it when he woke up. She took one last look at her house, the home she had built, and then closed the door before the tears could brim in her eyes. The key turned smoothly in the lock. She thought about slipped in the key back through the letter box, after all, she didn't plan on coming back. But something in her said no, she needed to keep it. She would need it later. She pushed the thought aside as she pushed the key into her pocket. She wasn't coming back.

She turned, and walked briskly down the path to the pavement, and then followed it. She slipped her phone out of her pocket and dialled, her fingers quivering either from the cold or from the shock of what she had just left behind.

The Bentley was pulled up outside the park when she arrived. Skulduggery was waiting anxiously, his body as stock still as it usually was. She walked up to him quietly, and said nothing. There was nothing she needed to say. Instead, she burst into tears, and then felt two bony arms wrap themselves around her into a hug. She didn't know how long she stood there and cried into his shoulder, but it was a while. When she eventually pulled away, he offered her a tissue, and she accepted.

"The sun will be rising in an hour or so," Skulduggery said quietly, and she nodded. If she was going through with this for real, she needed to have disappeared by sunrise. "Valkyrie, I'm not sure if I should say this, but if you _are_ coming back, and I won't blame you if you change your mind, but you should probably have a contact."

"A contact?"

"Someone to keep you updated on what's happening. Birthdays, anniversaries. You children are going to grow up, maybe get married, someday. You'd want to know if that was happening, wouldn't you?"

"Yes."

"So, who do you trust that could keep you updated, without it looking conspicuous that they still had contact with you?" Valkyrie racked her brains, thankful of the fact that Skulduggery had suggested it. She had thought about everything she would miss. She hadn't thought of keeping contact with anyone. After about a minute, a single name popped up in her head. She looked to Skulduggery.

"Can you take me to my parent's house?"

* * *

Alice was having a wonderful dream about kittens. Kittens overrunning the school and becoming the masters of education, where all exams were on which foods were the nicest, and classes were spent watching propaganda on how cats were better than dogs, like the film _Cats vs Dogs_, except the ending had been changed so the cats won, and they were the good guys. It was a very strange dream.

She woke up to someone gently shaking her arm. She tried to pull the duvet closer to her, not wanting it to be morning just yet, the room seeming colder than normal. She couldn't be bothered with Fridays.

"Five more minutes," she muttered, wafting her mother away with her hand.

"Alice, wake up. It's Stephanie."

"Stephanie?" It was her sister, not her mother, that was waking her up. Why? Why was her sister there in the first place should have been the obvious question, but the first question that popped into mind was 'doesn't she know I like sleep?'

"Go away, I'm sleeping." She muttered. She must still have been dreaming. Then the shaking got rougher, and she had to wake up.

"What?" She asked, rolling over. She was about to complain when she saw the tear streaks on her sister's cheeks reflected by the moonlight coming through the window. Why was the window open? That must have been why it was colder in the room.

"Stephanie? What's wrong?" She sat up, rubbing her eyes with a yawn, but she was awake now. Surely it was nothing serious.

"I'm leaving." Stephanie replied shortly.

"Do you want me to fish-sit?" Alice asked, yawning some more.

"What? No, I don't want you to fish-sit. I don't even have any fish."

"Oh, yeah. I thought you were getting fish?"  
"No."

"Oh. Well, what is it then?"

"I just told you. I'm leaving."

"Yeah, but where? When are you coming back?" That created a pause.  
"I'm not coming back." She answered shortly, and Alice removed her hands from her face, and looked at her.

"What?"

"I can't tell you where I'm going. But I'm not coming back."  
"Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying. Listen, I need you to do me a favour?"

"What?"

"I need you to keep me updated."  
"Updated?"

"Yes. If I leave a card or a letter or something with you, I need to know that I can trust you to get it to who it needs to be with, and vice versa."

"I don't understand."

"So, like, if it's Carol's birthday, you could take a picture of her for me, and I'd leave a card with you to give to her. Got it?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Please, Alice. I don't trust anyone else, but you cannot tell _anyone_ that you're keeping contact with me."

"What about mum and dad?"

"_Especially_ not mum and dad. Not John, not the kids, no one. Not even your closest friend. This has to stay a secret, Alice. Can I trust you?"

"But-"

"Can I trust you?" Stephanie asked defiantly, and Alice looked at her, saw the focus in her eyes burying the pain. Slowly, she nodded.

"Yeah, yeah you can trust me."

"Ok, good. So, can you do this for me?"  
"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Ok. You know when Lucia's and Carol's birthdays are, right?"

"Yes."

"Good. Thank you, Alice." Her sister stood, and began to walk towards the window. Alice sat up in alarm.

"But, Stephanie, where are you going? Why are you leaving?"

"I'm leaving to keep you safe. But I can't tell you where I'm going."

"Why not?" Stephanie looked from the window to her sister, sadly.

"You won't be safe if you know." Then she turned and jumped out of the window. Alice had never thrown the covers off herself so quickly before in her life as she lunged to the windowsill to look over at what would undoubtable be the splattered body of her older sister. Her own breathing rang in her ears as she looked down, prepared for the horror. But there was nothing there. No sign of anyone, or anything. No splattered Stephanie on the ground, No Stephanie anywhere. It was like she had disappeared into thin air, into the shadows themselves. Alice stuck her head out of the window and looked from left to right. There was no sign of anyone. Her sister was gone. She brought herself back inside, and closed the window, pulling the curtains shut as they had been before. Then she decided it had all been just a dream. A stupid dream. A stupidly vivid dream. Definitely.

Alice climbed back into bed and tried to go back to the kitten overlord dream, but all she could see now were the tear-streaked cheeks of her sister, and the pain held in her eyes.

* * *

Valkyrie Cain was alive again. This time it was Stephanie Edgely who had died.

Valkyrie looked at the Sanctuary walls around her as Skulduggery led the way. The sun had risen. People were coming into work. The elders were meeting in the council room, ready to hear the urgent news Skulduggery had to tell – imagine what their faces would be when they saw her again, this time back for good. She had wiped the tears from her face, washed them away. She was presentable again, not that she cared.

Her footsteps echoed along with Skulduggery's as they walked down the corridor, and she thought of her ever changing personalities. Valkyrie Cain had been dead and buried, and now she was alive again, and it was Stephanie who as dead and lost. Stephanie, who had a family, a life. She was dead now, and in her place was a low hum in the back of Valkyrie's mind, a slow sigh.

'_It would be amusing watching you struggle with this,_' Darquesse muttered to her '_If I wasn't experiencing it as well_.'


	10. 10 - Time Passes Fast

**HI GUYS! So I have a ****_very_**** long chapter prepared for you today, possibly the longest one I have ever written for this short Skulduggery Pleasant series at over 4000 words long not including this small AN. AND GUESS WHAT! I love you all so so much. I've had a question about who's P.O.V the second section is going to follow, so I've left it for you to read on and find out for yourselves - seriously after like the first few paragraphs it's really obvious because I use her name, so! That's that sorted! Prepared for an emotional drama-filled second section. ENJOY!**

* * *

**SECTION TWO**

**Thirteen Years Later**

The alarm clock was loud and obnoxious. She didn't like it. Maybe that was why, that morning in particular, she chose to beat it over and over again until it had fallen off the bedside cabinet, and then rolled over and went back to sleep. That could also have been the reason why she had missed the bus, and was subsequently late for school.

The walk took far too long, and she wasn't in the mood for walking anyway. When was anyone? She scowled as the gates loomed into view like the entrance to some sort of graveyard or an inescapable prison. And of course, there was Mr Popenheimer, the deputy head teacher, waiting at those gates in order to catch the truants.

He recognised her as soon as she stepped up with a sigh to be let in. She should have stayed at home, called in sick. School wasn't particularly interesting anyway, but then they'd call her dad, and he'd take the day off work, come all the way home for her, and she'd have to feign illness for the whole day, staying in bed and being even more bored, and if she didn't, well, she'd be back here faster than you could say 'disappointed dad'. The most horrible thing would be watching his face as he drove her back to the school, the tired and disappointed look on his face as his anger fuse burned away inside of him – but it never exploded when she or her sister were around. It was always when he was alone. And she knew it was.

Mr Popenheimer glared at her as he opened the gate.

"Why are you late?" he asked, his voice loud and stiff.

"My alarm clock broke," she replied.

"So you slept in?"

"Well, my alarm clock was broken so I didn't-"

"Excuses, Miss Hartness, will not be tolerated."

"It's not an excuse-"

"Get to class. I'll sign you in. Don't be late again, Miss Hartness, you wouldn't want it to go on your record now, would you?"

"No, sir. Thank you sir," she muttered through gritted teeth as she continued walking, feeling the eyes of Mr Popenheimer on her until the next truant appeared, who actually _was_ lying (everyone knew he was late to school because he stopped around the corner to snort crack or whatever kind of drug he was snorting nowadays. You could always tell he was stoned sky-high).

She made her way to her first lesson (English), and sat down without any fuss. She didn't particularly like English, but she liked the teacher. Mrs Alabaster had a soft spot for her, so English was pretty much the only lesson she had never gotten into trouble in. But of course, that also meant she tried to work harder in English, so Mrs Alabaster would have a _reason_ for having a soft spot for her that wasn't 'I knew your mother'.

She nudged the girl in front of her, her friend Abigail. Abigail glanced to her the second Mrs Alabaster's back was turned.

"What?"

"What should I bring to the sleepover tonight?"

"Normal stuff. Pyjamas, socks, toothbrush, what else do you need?"

"No, like, films and stuff."

"We've already got some. Bring 'Misery' if you want. Just make sure you're at my house for seven, or you'll miss the pizza."

"Ok."

"Miss Jones, Miss Hartness, eyes to the front please." Mrs Alabaster declared, and their eyes moved obediently.

She managed to focus for about twenty minutes, and then her eyes drifted to the window next to her, and she found herself looking outside across the courtyard. That was usually where she found herself looking. There was never anything particularly interesting there, other than a few pigeons, but she could see the sky in the distance, and there was occasionally a cloud that looked like something or other. Then her name was called, and her head snapped back to Mrs Alabaster, who was watching her and the rest of the class at the same time. She looked down to stare at her blank piece of paper, and then asked the girl that sat next to her (Sarah) what it was they were supposed to be doing.

* * *

English passed quickly. Maths was hell. English again, not so bad. Then History. And finally, Physics, which again was hell. She really should have called in sick. It was Friday, no one would have cared.

In the last few minutes of Physics, she became so bored she was sure her head would soon roll off her shoulders in search of a better place.

She couldn't get out of there fast enough, and was one of the first people at the bus stop. She couldn't wait to be eighteen. Then she could get out of this school, and even Dublin altogether, and go somewhere else, somewhere new. But that was three years away. She wasn't sure if she could cope for another three years. Her aunt Alice had said it got better as you got older. She wasn't so sure.

Her sister joined her just in time for the bus. It wasn't fair – Carol was already eighteen. She only had a few more months here, and then she could go wherever she wanted to go, do whatever she wanted to do. Lucia still had another _three years_. She felt like banging her head against a brick wall.

The bus pulled up and they got on board, Carol sitting next to her, as always. There was a mountain of homework in her bag, a swirl of figures and theories in her head. E=mc squared where E= energy and c= the speed of light… urgh.

The bus pulled up at the stop, two minutes away from their house. Carol looked almost pleased to be back home, which was the only thing that had been quite unusual about the day. Carol was usually very quiet, and serious. Even breakfast on a morning was a serious matter.

"Why didn't you wake me up this morning?" Lucia asked her "I almost got into so much trouble."

"You should have learned to get up yourself by now." Carol replied, still with a slight smile on her face.

"What's up with you?" She asked suspiciously.

"What do you mean?"  
"You're all smiley. What's wrong?"

"I don't know, I just feel… happy."  
"Who are you and what have you done with my sister?"

"Shut up."

Carol had the house key, and opened the door. Lucia dumped her schoolbag in the living room and went upstairs to pack her overnight bag for the sleepover at Abigail's. She packed her clothes, her toothbrush and 'Misery', and then 'The Mist', just in case, and then brought the bag downstairs. Carol was in the kitchen, getting a drink. She raised an eyebrow when she saw the bag.

"Going out?"

"I'm going to Abigail's, remember."

"Oh, yeah. Does Dad know?"  
"Of course Dad knows."

"Are you sure?"  
"Yes I'm sure."

"Because the last time you left for a sleepover you didn't tell him and he almost had a panic attack."  
"I told him, ok?" Lucia said, rolling her eyes.

"What time do you have to be there?" Carol asked.

"Before seven."

"But, Dad's not going to be back until after eight, he said so yesterday, because of that meeting."

"I know, I'm going to walk."

"You're _walking_. Lucia it's going to be pitch black!"  
"It's only ten minutes away,"

"So get Abigail's Dad to come and get you."

"Her parents aren't in tonight, that's why she's having the sleepover."

"Well then I'm coming with you."

"No you're not."

"Lucia I'm not letting you walk in the dark by yourself."

"I have a torch, I'll be fine."

"Lucia I really don't think this is a good idea. Just let me come with you."

"No, I don't need your help."

"Lucia-"

"I'll be fine, Carol. God, I'm not two, ok? I can walk for ten minutes by myself."

"And what if something happens to you?"

"I've got my phone, I'll be fine." Carol frowned at her, but she didn't wait to hear more, and left the kitchen, sitting in the living room and turning on the television.

Carol joined her a while later and did her homework on her lap as she half-watched the programme. Being honest there wasn't much on the TV that was interesting. Lucia's stomach slowly began to grumble as the time neared six. Lucia stood and stretched. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a biscuit – one biscuit wouldn't ruin her appetite – and had a drink before slipping on her shoes. Abigail wouldn't mind if she got there early. Carol stood quickly.

"I'll come with you." She said, about to grab her own shoes, but Lucia stopped her.

"No, it's fine. I've got my torch, my phone is in my pocket. I'll text you when I get there so you know I'm safe." Carol pursed her lips into a thin line. "I'll be fine, it's only ten minutes away. I've walked to Abigail's hundreds of times before."

"I don't like it." Carol muttered.

"Can you lock the door behind me?" Lucia asked, ignoring her. Carol frowned again, but nodded as Lucia put on her coat and picked up her bag.

"I'll be back tomorrow at around lunch-time, ok?"  
"Does Dad know?"

"Yes, Dad knows."

"Ok. Just, be careful."

"I will." Lucia turned on the torch as Carol opened the door and held it open for her. The air that rushed into the house was cold and sharp.

"See you later,"

"Bye. Remember to text me."

"I will." The door closed behind her. Carol had been right, it was pitch black, but Lucia had a torch, and that lit the way fine.

She set off from the house, feeling Carol's eyes on her from the window. It was eerily quiet, the silence sending chills down her spine. Every rustle of the bushes, every flap of a bird's wings, set her on edge. She quickened her pace. Maybe she'd even make it to Abigail's in five minutes if she walked fast enough.

She passed the bus stop, and a rustle from ahead made her stop. She could hear footsteps coming towards her. 'It's probably just a dog walker or something', she told herself. 'You're just being silly.'

The footsteps got louder as they got closer. She slipped into the bus shelter and turned off the torch, trying to quieten her breath as much as possible as she squirmed into the corner. A second set of footsteps joined the first, this set coming from the direction she had just walked. It was too dark to see whoever it was once they came into the view of the bus shelter, but she could see one of the man's outlines in the dark. He was huge, burly, like a lumberjack or something. He had come from the direction she had been walking – had he been following her?

He didn't stop outside the bus shelter, but carried on and met up with whoever it was just to the left of the shelter's view.

"Well?" one of the men said gruffly.

"I swear it was Cain," the second replied "looked exactly like her."

"Just looking like someone doesn't make them that person, you idiot."

"But the boss said she had a bag with her, this one had a bag."

"So?"

"So someone lookin' exactly like Cain walked down here with a bag like the boss said she would is all I'm sayin'."

"And she just disappeared into thin air? I bet you lost her way back."

"I didn't, she should have run straight into you."

"You don't reckon' she had that Renn guy with her, do you?"

"Couldn't have done, I only heard one set of footprints. There was only her when I started followin'."

"Idiot, he's a _teleporter_, he could have just appeared straight outta the air and you wouldn't have heard him."

"I swear he wasn't with her,"

"Well then she's still here somewhere. She might've gone across the road, into the bushes over there. You check. I'll check around here."

"Why do I have to cross the road?"

"Because the boss put me in charge an' I told you to, so move it."There was a slight yelp, as if someone had been hit, and she heard the footsteps resume to cross the road. They'd been following her? Who was Cain? And Renn? Was 'teleporter' code for something? Why couldn't things just go normally for once?

The second set of footprints moved around on her side of the road, coming closer to the bus shelter. He was trying to be stealthy, and failing. He'd notice her if she stayed in there, but she couldn't get out without being noticed. Could she?

The footsteps were getting closer as she moved from her hiding place in the corner to the other corner. She could see an outline of a figure. Could he see her?

"Hey!" She froze, but wasn't the man she was looking at who had yelled, it was the other man across the road. There was a grunt and a yelp and a short cry for help. The man Lucia as looking at turned to face the road and paused. He didn't run after his comrade. She took her chance and slipped around the shelter wall to the other corner. But luck wasn't on her side.

"There you are!" The man snapped, and she broke into a sprint instantly. But the man was inhumanly fast, despite his size, and he caught up to her in seconds. She screamed as she felt arms wrap around her and throw her to the side. She landed on the pavement and pain shot through her side and she yelped.

"Bad move, Cain." The man snarled, but then there was a slight 'pop'ing sound in the air, and the man grunted and cried out. Lucia looked up. Someone was flickering in and out of her vision. He was holding a baseball bat, swinging it. It hit the man in the gut. The 'someone' disappeared, appeared again behind the man, swung the bat, disappeared again, cracked the bat against the man's skull. The man made a gulping sound and collapsed to the ground. Lucia tried to stand. Would the 'someone' attack her too? He was walking towards her as she got to her knees, but the pain made her grab her arm with a soft cry.

He crouched down next to her.

"Are you ok?" He sounded young, not gruff like the other men. She whimpered.

"Please don't hurt me. I didn't do anything, I swear."

"I won't hurt you, promise." He looked around. "Let's find some light and we'll have a look at your arm, ok?" She nodded slightly, and he put his arm around her waist.

"Ok, one two three, upsy-daisy." He lifted her easily and she felt her feet touch the ground again. He helped her back into the bus shelter, and sat her down on the bench.

"I saw you had a torch, do you still have it?"

"I think I dropped it." She muttered "When the guy picked me up."

"Ok, I'll find it. Stay here." He walked out of the shelter, looked around and disappeared. A sensible person might have run from the shelter right there and then, but Lucia couldn't move. Her body trembled involuntarily as her chest got warm and painful. The someone reappeared again with the torch.

"Ok, let's see what we're dealing with. I might need you to take off your coat, can you do that?" She nodded and took off her coat. He turned the torch on and pointed it at her upper arm before wincing. "That's gotta hurt. Ok, I think we need to get you to Kenspeckle. This is going to need patching up." He noticed her shaking. "Hey, are you ok? Why don't you put your coat back on, it's pretty cold." She slipped it back on, and he helped her stand. He picked up her bag.

"Ok, just hold my hand and I'll get us back to the Sanctuary."

"Sanctuary?"

"Sure. Where else are you going to get that patched up?" She hesitated. Was she really about to hold a stranger's hand and go with him to a place he called 'the Sanctuary' – is sounded like a cult or something. He rolled his eyes and took her hand. Before she could protest or pull away, a fuzzy sensation entered her head as colours flashed by her, and then she was blinded by light. She let go of his hand to cover her eyes.

"Sorry. I should have gone to a darker room, shouldn't I?" She lowered her hand and looked around her. They seemed to be in a white-wash corridor, lights hanging overhead. She looked to the someone, and saw him looking at her. He had blonde hair and slightly tanned skin. He was taller than her by about half a head, and he didn't have a baseball bat anymore.

"That's really creepy." He muttered to himself.

"What?"

"You look like a mini-Cain."

"A mini-Cain?"

"Yeah," He started walking, gesturing for her to follow him. "You've heard of Detective Cain right? You look just like her." He looked at Lucia again "That's really really weird." He led her down the corridor, and around a corner into another corridor before they got to a door.

"This is the medical bay. Kenspeckle should be in here. If he's not, my mum can always heal you." He opened the door and they walked through it. The room was again pretty much white-washed, with a row of hospital beds on one side, some of which were occupied by various looking people, some heavily bandaged, some not. A woman with dark hair and tanned skin was walking around each of them, checking them, asking questions.

"Hi mum." She turned to him, and an expression of a half-smile and half-scowl crossed her face.

"Alex it's lovely to see you, but I told you not to disturb me while I'm working."

"I'm not disturbing you, I brought someone who needs healing. She got jumped. And I thought dad told you not to use my given name while we were in the Sanctuary."

"A patient? Bring them over here." The woman said, ignoring the someone's – Alex's – last sentence. What did he mean by a 'given name?'

Alex led her to one of the hospital beds and stepped back as the woman looked at her. Lucia sat on the edge of the bed, still trembling slightly.

"Do you know who I am?" The woman asked.

"No." Lucia replied honestly.

"Well my name is Jade Blossom. What's your name?"

"Lucia." She answered.

"Ok, Lucia. Where does it hurt?" She pointed to her arm.

"It looks pretty bad, mum." Alex said.

"Can you take your coat off for me please?" Jade said, again, ignoring her son. Lucia slipped the jacket off, and Jade looked at the injury. In the light, Lucia could see it too, but had to turn her head away in case she was sick.

"Broken," Jade muttered "not a big problem. We can heal that up pretty quickly. Sit on the bed properly – you'll have to stay still for about fifteen minutes. Does it hurt?"

"Yes."

"Ok. We'll get some pain leaves as well then." Jade strode away, and Lucia sat further on the bed.

"Thanks for stopping those guys." She muttered quietly. Alex shrugged.

"I couldn't just let them jump you, could I? But you must have been doing something pretty important to get those guys following you."

"What?"

"Well, they're part of the Tremor's batch – you can always tell with those guys. But they don't just target anyone. You must have been doing something they didn't like."

"But… but I wasn't doing anything? I was just going to a friend's."

"What's in the bag?"

"The bag?"

"Yeah, the bag you had with you. This one." He held it up, and she remembered he still had it. "What's in it?"

"Just clothes and a couple of films." She shrugged with a frown "And my toothbrush." Alex grinned slightly.

"Ok, what's _really_ in there?"

"I wasn't lying. It's just my clothes and stuff. What else was I supposed to bring to a sleepover?"

"A sleepover?" He frowned, a puzzled look crossing his face "What do you mean?"

"Well, my friend Abigail invited me to go and sleep over at her house tonight. That's where I was going when those guys showed up."

"That's a good cover story, but you don't have to hide anything here." He said, frowning more, and then his face went worried "You're not kidding, are you?"

"No. Why would I be kidding? And how did you do all that? One minute we're on the street, the next we're in a building."

"Um…"

"Ok, here we are." Jade returned, breaking off whatever it was that Alex had been about to say. She had a small porcelain bowl in one hand, and a cloth in the other. She picked up a leaf out of the bowl.

"Ok, chew this. It will take away the pain." Lucia took it with her good arm, and chewed. It didn't taste of anything, but slowly she could feel the pain numbing. She watched as Jade dipped the cloth into the bowl and then dabbed some sort of liquid on her arm. It was green, and quite thick, like liquidised spinach or something.

"Ok, and you'll need to stay still for the next fifteen minutes, so don't move. I'll come and wipe it off for you when the time's up."

"Ok."

"Hey, mum, could I have a word with you?" Alex asked, and Jade nodded before he pulled her away to a corner of the room where Lucia couldn't see them. Lucia frowned and looked down at her arm. The wound on her arm had been completely covered with green stuff, but she couldn't feel any pain. She looked around her to pass the time and her good arm moved to her face. There were a few grazes on the side of her cheek where she had been thrown, but they didn't feel serious. Her arm had taken the brunt of the force.

She found herself wondering who the guys were. What was 'Tremors'? Why had they wanted to hurt her, or, hurt who they thought she was? Who was Detective Cain? It was all so confusing.

She slipped her good hand into her pocket and took out her phone. Luckily, she had signal in whatever place this was. She quickly texted Carol that she was ok – if anything else went wrong she could always call the police, there was no need for Carol to worry. Thinking about that, why hadn't she called the police in the first place, the minute she'd heard she was being followed. God, she was such an idiot sometimes.

She texted Abigail to say she wouldn't be at the sleepover. She'd suddenly been needed at home. There was no reason to spoil Abigail's night either by making them wait for her. After all, she wasn't the only one sleeping over than night.

She put her phone back in her pocket just as Alex and Jade returned. Alex was blushing slightly, as if he'd just had a huge telling-off. Jade pushed him forwards.

"I'm sorry for dragging you here," he muttered "I should have taken you to a hospital or a police station before assuming you were with us." _With you?_ What did that mean?

"That's ok," she answered quietly "I'm just glad you didn't leave me out there with those guys. I don't know what they would've done when they realised I wasn't Cain."

"Cain?" Jade was suddenly back in the conversation, ears pricked "What about her?"

"Well, they said they were looking for her. That's why they were following me – they thought I was her."

"They do look very similar." Alex agreed with a nod of his head.

"And you said they were from Tremor?" She turned to Alex with the question.

"Yeah, they looked like his guys." He nodded, and Jade's face went cold, almost stern.

"Alex, go and get the elders and then find Skulduggery and Valkyrie. Make sure they're all in the council room. They need to know about this." Her eyes drifted to Lucia, who shivered slightly under her gaze.

"I'm afraid you might have to stay a little longer. Pleasant and Cain will need to ask you a few questions."


	11. 11 - Not The Best Meeting

**Hello again! Thanks to all of you who've commented, it's been great reading them all! This chapter is dedicated to Hollyleaf988 for her very appreciated input and constant laughing as she read the chapter - even thought I'm pretty sure most of it wasn't supposed to be funny... oh well. XD Enjoy!**

* * *

Lucia was almost shaking again by the time the fifteen minutes was up for the green sludge to be wiped off her arm. She was no longer numb, but all the pain had gone. Now she was just scared. Alex had disappeared, this time by walking out of the door, and had only just returned, nodding his head to his mother with a solemn look on his face. He reminded her of Carol, the seriousness of any situation weighing on both their shoulders, mirrored in each of their faces. Jade gestured for her to stand, and she did.

"Your arm shouldn't give you any bother now, but try not to do anything strenuous with it for about a day. Alex will take you to the council room." She didn't know what a 'council room' was, but imagined it to be either something extremely extravagant or disappointingly boring. Alex started walking, and she had to hurry to pick up her bag and scurry after him – she had the feeling she wouldn't want to be alone in this place.

The white-wash walls of the corridors suddenly seemed terribly prison-like, as if she was a convict being led on death-row, like on the American programmes that were frequently broadcast on the television.

"What's the council room?" She asked. Alex didn't look at her as he spoke.

"It's where the elders gather for meetings and emergencies."

"And which one is this? A meeting or an emergency?"

"Trust me, when it's an emergency, you'll know about it." He sounded like he had seen a lot of emergencies. She shivered slightly. He led her down more corridors, and they passed a few people. Adults, with serious faces and files in their arms, were quietly talking to each other. They stopped talking when Alex and Lucia passed them, and a milliseconds' worth of awkward silence took place before they passed each other, and then resumed their silent conversation.

She stuck as close as she possibly could to Alex before they turned a corner, and a set of large oak double-doors loomed into view. Alex stopped and turned to her before they entered, the doors still closed behind him.

"Listen, this is important. Don't speak unless you're spoken to and do _not_ mention your name. I'll do the talking for you unless they ask you a direct question. Ok?"

"Ok." She nodded nervously, and he watched for a second, as if deciding whether she was telling the truth or not. Then he turned back to the doors and knocked on it.

"Enter." The reply was sharply barked, and Alex opened the door, walking through with Lucia behind him. He closed the doors behind them as Lucia stopped her lips from trembling. The room was large, the three chairs in front of her resembling the judge's chairs in a courtroom, the largest in the middle with two flanking it either side. There were a few chairs around the edges, as if other people could sit there, but mostly the room was just open. In the three chairs sat three people. In the middle was the most beautiful woman Lucia had ever seen. She had the urge to pledge love right there and then, even though she knew she was straight, it didn't seem to matter. But Alex had told her to keep her mouth shut, so she did, because she was in a strange place, with people she didn't know, and she wasn't going to take any chances here. To the right of her was a strong looking man with dark hair. His eyes seemed to watch her every move, as if they alone could crush her instantly. To the right of the woman was another man, except this man had a kind face, as if he pitied her, or was concerned for her. Or, concerned for someone else. The most striking thing about this man, was the multitude of scars covering his face and bald head. She would have stared if she were a little less polite, but her dad had taught her well, and she looked at his eyes rather than his scars.

Alex moved beside her, and led her forwards a little bit. The beautiful woman cleared her throat, and Lucia had the urge again to confess undying love.

"While we wait for our detectives to return, we may as well make introductions." Her voice was smooth and sweet, like honey. Lucia kept her mouth clamped shut. "My name is China Sorrows. To my left is Elder Dexter Vex, and to my right is Elder Ghastly Bespoke." She didn't ask for Lucia's name, thankfully. "Do you understand why you're here?" She glanced to Alex. Should she answer her, or would Alex do it? Alex nudged her.

"No, Miss Sorrows." 'Miss Sorrows' sounded like the right thing to add – that was how you talked to teachers, right? And although she didn't look like a teacher, she was definitely an important person.

"Then allow me to explain. You may have witnessed something very important regarding one of our detectives. If there are people after our staff, then we want to know everything there is to know. Do you understand so far?"

"Yes."

"Good. Once the detectives arrive, we'll ask you a few questions, and then Flicker will take you home."

"Flicker?"

"That's me," Alex whispered to her, and she nodded slightly. So, his name was Alex Flicker? But his mum's last name was 'Blossom' – maybe he had his dad's last name.

The sound of the doors opening behind them made her look around slightly. Two people were walking into the room, calmly as could be. The tallest of them closed the door behind them, and spoke.

"Sorry we're late." He said smoothly, in a voice that could have been made of velvet. They both had hats on, the shadows from the brim slightly shielding their eyes. They moved to the corner, and stood there, as if it was their spot.

"Better late than never," the man called Ghastly said, and his eyes drifted between Lucia and the slightly shorter of the detectives (who was probably still a half a head taller than her). The taller of them was wearing a suit, the shorter was in what looked like leather. Stood next to each other, she noticed the tall one was very still. Unnaturally still.

"Well, now that we're all here, let's discuss the situation." China Sorrows said, her icy blue eyes moving to Lucia. "Please explain your version of the encounter." She looked to Alex and he nodded quickly.

"Um, I was walking to a friend's house and I heard someone walking behind me. As I got further away from my house I heard someone walking in front of me too, so I hid in the bus shelter."

"And then?"

"Well, the guy behind me passed the shelter without noticing me, and he met up with the other guy and they started talking."

"What exactly were they talking about?" The man called Vex said from his seat, leaning forwards slightly to hear better. "What did they say?"

"They said something about following me because I looked like someone called Cain. They said their boss had said Cain was supposed to be carrying a bag, and I was carrying my overnight bag to my friends, so I think they thought it was the same one."

"Did they say anything about who the boss was?" Vex asked.

"No. The only name I heard was Cain."

"Ok," he sighed "What happened then?"

"One of them went across the road to see if I'd run away, and then I heard some shouting, and I tried to run away, but the other guy saw me and attacked me. Then Alex-"

"Flicker."

"-Flicker, showed up and beat up the guy with a baseball bat, and then brought me here."

"And you didn't even ask if she was a Sanctuary member?" One of the detectives, the one with the velvet voice, asked.

"Tremor's guys were attacking her, so I figured she was someone important." Alex – Flicker, shrugged. Lucia chose not to take offence.

"How do you know they were from Tremor?" China asked, and Flicker turned to her.

"They looked like his kind of guys. Big, strong – adepts. Not too bright."

"A lot of people employ 'big strong adepts', Flicker, there's no guarantee they're from Tremor." China's gaze moved to the detectives at the back.

"We'll leave it up to you to figure this out, detectives. Valkyrie, watch yourself, and don't carry bags around anywhere."

"Since when do I carry a bag anyway?" The shorter detective replied – wait… that was Cain? Lucia couldn't see the similarity, then again she couldn't see half of the woman's face for the hat.

"They do look very similar," Elder Ghastly Bespoke said, "It's uncanny. Val, take your hat off, do a side-by-side."

"I'm not doing a side-by-side." Cain replied, but she took off her hat anyway. With the hat gone, the light danced across her face. She had a fading scar on her cheek, long dark hair and dark eyes, with pale skin. She was on the taller side, slim, and as she folded her arms Lucia could see she was muscular. But Bespoke was right, it was uncanny.

They had the same hair, the same eyes, the same nose, the same skin, the same build. They even looked the same age. It was like Lucia was a slightly smaller twin.

"No wonder they mistook you for her," Flicker muttered in her ear "Even when it's light you look the same."

"Where did you say the attack happened?" The man next to her asked before he took his hat off too. He had dark hair with slightly lighter eyes, and was tall and ridiculously thin. Flicker told them the street.

"You'd think they would have predicted you closer to my house." The tall man said with a shrug.

"No, because then you'd be there. I don't think they'd fancy getting shot." Cain muttered. Something about her expression had gone distant, as if she was thinking of something she didn't really want to think about.

"Is there anything else?" Lucia's head turned back to China Sorrows who was watching Flicker.

"Not that I know of, Grand Mage."

"Very well. Flicker, you can take her home now. Thank you for your co-operation." China looked to her now, and all she could do was nod stiffly. Then, as she prepared to get out of there as fast as she could, Ghastly laughed. His laugh was so loud and warm it would have been infectious if it wasn't so strange. Every head had turned to him.

"I'm sorry," he said with a chuckle "but it's the first time in years I've seen someone new stand in front of China and not confess 'undying love'."

"What?" Lucia stammered – could he read minds? How had he known that?

"I have that effect on people." China smiled slightly, as if it was amusing, as if she could also tell what had been going through Lucia's mind.

"It's impressive," Vex agreed "but anyway, you should be getting home. Your parents will be getting worried."

"Not really, my dad's working late tonight."

"And your mother?"

"I don't have a mum. She left when I was little."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Vex said with a slow nod, as if she had just told him her mum was dead or something.

"Yeah, well, I'll take you home now. Sorry, again."

"It's ok." She muttered, and turned around, and her eyes instantly met Cain's.

"Valkyrie?" the man next to her said quietly, more of a question than a statement. Lucia couldn't drag her eyes away, as if they were locked in place, staring at Cain. And Cain was staring back, almost as if she was searching for something, trying to recognise something. And the strangest thing was, she did look familiar. Had they met before?

"Do you have a sister?" Cain asked suddenly.

"What?"

"An older sister. Do you have one?"

"Y-yeah. Yeah I do."

"And she doesn't look like you?"

"No."

"She looked like her father?"

"Yeah."

"Brown blonde hair and blue eyes?"

"Yeah. Wait, you know Carol?"

"Valkyrie…" the man's voice again "Valkyrie, let's go."

"Carol…" Cain's voice was suddenly distant, as if she was remembering something, and the eye contact was broken. Lucia blinked once, realising her eyes were stinging, and looked around. The eyes of the three Elders were flickering between them, Alex stood beside her, looking rather puzzled, and then slightly shocked. Cain was shaking, and Lucia watched as her fists clenched.

"Magnus, I think you'd better run for it." The man said quickly.

"Running? There's no time for that! I'm teleporting!" And Alex was gone, just there one minute, not there the next. Lucia's eyes widened.

"How did he do that?" She asked quickly.

"Where's he gone?" the voice was calm, but not a nice calm, a dangerous calm, as if a volcano was lying just under the surface.

"Valkyrie, you need to calm down."

"Calm down? I'm gonna kill him!"

"Skulduggery, get Valkyrie out of here until she calms down. I'll take Lucia back." Lucia looked up and saw it was Bespoke who had spoken. The man nodded and tried to take Cain by the shoulder, but she shrugged him off and strode out of the room, fists clenched tight. He followed her quickly with a jog in his step.

"How did you know my name?" Lucia asked when they'd gone. Vex shrugged, holding his hands up.

"Don't ask me. I haven't got a clue who you are."

"I'll explain on the way." Bespoke said as he stood, and walked down from the chair. "Follow me and stay close." Lucia looked at the three of them and then nodded and scurried after him as they left the room. He closed the doors behind him. There was the sound of shouting in the distance.

"Um, Mr Elder?" He laughed.

"You can call me Ghastly."

"Ok, um Ghastly, will Alex be ok?"

"Who?"

"Flicker."

"Oh, I'm sure he'll be fine. If he's smart he'll stay away for a few hours." There was more shouting, and then a large crash. "Maybe a few days." A large swear word was heard. "Maybe in Australia."

The shouting got quieter as they walked further away.

"Ghastly, how did that woman know me? How does she know my sister?" His laugh disappeared.

"It's… complicated. You might not like what I tell you, but you have to keep in mind that it's been very difficult for Valkyrie."

"Difficult? What are you talking about?" The sound of running echoing from further down the corridor interrupted Ghastly before he could answer her question. He stiffened slightly, and she did the same, before someone flew around the corner and nearly ran straight into them.

"There you are!" The figure declared, and Ghastly instantly relaxed.

"Tanith, what are you doing here?" He asked, but he said it kindly.

"Well I saw Val storming off down the corridor and when I asked Skulduggery what happened he told me the news! I can't believe it! Is this her? It has to be her, no one else could look so similar! It's her! Oh I can't believe it! Look at you, you're so grown up! Hasn't she grown, Ghastly? She looks so much like her mother! Oh, she's just so adorable!"

"You knew my mum?" Lucia didn't have time to ask anything else before the blonde woman was patting her hair and squidging her cheeks. Lucia batted her away – she was like an aunt at a family reunion or something.

"I'm sorry! It's just been so long! I've only ever seen pictures of you, but here you are!"

"Who are you?" Lucia asked bluntly.

"Well, you can call me Aunty Tan, or Aunt Tanith, or just Tanith if you like."

"Aunt?"

"Well, I'm not _technically_ related to you, but I am essentially your mum's sister. I'm a lot like a sister."

"So you do know my mum?"

"Of course I know her!"

"Um, Tanith, honey, maybe this isn't the time-"

"Nonsense, it's an amazing time."

"Tan, she hasn't actually been _told_ yet."

"Oh." And Tanith had backed away a little, out of Lucia's comfort zone.

"Told me what?" Ghastly glanced to Tanith, and Tanith glanced back.

"Come on, we'll tell you on the way."

"Can I come?"

"I said 'we' didn't I?" Ghastly started walking again, and Tanith fell into step beside him. Lucia stood or a moment, and then jogged to catch up.

"Tell me what?"

"You'll find out in a minute." Ghastly said again, and Tanith looked at her.

"Sorry for attacking you there, didn't even occur to me that you wouldn't know what the hell I was talking about. You do look just like her though, it's uncanny."

"That's what I said." Ghastly muttered.


	12. 12 - Explanations sort of

**Hi again! I really appreciate all of your reviews and your support, I'm really happy you guys are enjoying the sequel and the new characters! Now, I have a tichy wichy favour to ask: a freind of mine from school is in the finals of a poetry competition, and the general public have to vote on the poetry website to determine who wins. So if'd be so kind as to check it out and vote for her, she'd really appreciate it! The website is Young Writers, and to get to the vote just go to competitions, secondary schools and then to the Poetry Games 2012 - I tried to put the link up but Fanfic hates it, so :/ . You can vote once a day until the 17th of January. My freind's poem is called 'Hidden' and it's by Mia, so if you could vote for her, she'd be really grateful. You don't have to, but at least I can say I tried. Thanks guys, and as always, enjoy the chapter!**

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Lucia was led up a long flight of stairs, and by the time they reached the door at the top, her legs were begging for rest, dragging themselves across the floor.

"Why did we have to walk so far?" She groaned. Tanith chuckled at her.

"Well it wouldn't be safe if every Tom, Dick and Harry could just walk in, would it?" Tanith said as she opened the door and walked into the next room.

"What do you mean 'safe'?" Lucia asked, but no one answered her as they left the staircase and entered the room. Lucia looked around her, almost in disbelief. The excessive amount of corridors and rooms and even the long staircase they had just walked up, had all been pristine and spotless in their own right, professional looking. The room encasing them now looked as it if had been pulled right out of a slum. The floorboards were rotting in places, dust, mud and God knows what else covering the walls. No windows, the light coming through a hole in the roof above the rusted door. Lucia wrinkled her nose in disgust and held her breath against the stench that the room held. Ghastly and Tanith seemed immune to it, and walked straight through and out of the door. She was hot on their heels as she followed, taking gulps of fresh night air once she was outside.

"What the hell is with that room? It's disgusting!"

"We know. It stops people sleeping in there or breaking in – no one wants to stay there for more than a few seconds." Tanith said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. From the outside, the building looked like a house, a very average house. It showed no signs of dilapidation, and there was no way all those rooms and corridors could have fit into that one house. Ghastly saw her looking.

"It's all underground." He explained, "the house is just one of the entrances."

"Oh." Lucia answered – it was sounding more and more like a giant government conspiracy every second.

There was a large grey van parked outside. Ghastly pulled a car key out of his pocket and pressed the button. The lights of the car flashed as the doors unlocked.

"All aboard," he muttered. Ghastly got in the driver's seat, and Tanith got in the other side before beckoning her over. The van had three front seats, and then a glass slide covered in wire mesh to see through into the back of the van. It was empty, and dark.

Lucia sat in the seat closest to the door, with Tanith in the middle and Ghastly driving. The minute the ignition was turned and the van pulled out onto the road, Ghastly began to speak.

"So, your mother."

"Yes, tell me everything."

"It would take forever to tell you _everything_," Tanith responded with a slight frown "too much has happened."

"You have to understand that anything we tell you must not be repeated, under any circumstances," Ghastly said seriously "Not to your friends, not to your sister, not even to your father. Do you understand?"

"My lips are sealed." She said, running her finger across her lips as if she were zipping them shut.

"I first met your mother when she was twelve," Ghastly said "Her uncle, a good friend of ours, had just passed away. Through no fault of her own, she'd become involved with one of my friends, Detective Skulduggery Pleasant."

"Wasn't that the man in the council room? The tall skinny one?"

"That's him. I told her to stay away from all of this, that it would be better if she just went home and forgot she'd ever met us, but she refused. She took a new name, as we all do here, and became heavily involved with the Sanctuary. From then on, we all became very good friends, until…"

"Until what?"

"Your mother was having a difficult time," Tanith took over the speech as Ghastly's mouth formed a thin grim line. "She was trying to balance her family life and her sanctuary life without her parents knowing. She wanted to keep everything a secret, to protect them."

"As she should have done," Ghastly nodded.

"When she was eighteen," Tanith continued "Her cousin died, due to a… member, of the Sanctuary, turning slightly insane. She's blamed herself ever since. So, about half a year after her cousin's death was discovered, she left the Sanctuary, took back her old name, and we never saw her again – well, Ghastly, Skulduggery and I went to her wedding but after that we never saw her again."

"And that's it? There as to be more," Lucia demanded.

"Of course there's more. We wouldn't know you if there wasn't." Tanith rolled her eyes "Your mother made a new life for herself. She went to University, met a man, and settled down to start her own family. By this time ten years had passed, and we needed her again, so she was called back in. She didn't particularly want to come back, but she did. She helped us solve our problem, and then tried to go back to her life, but the minute she set foot back in her house, she was attacked. Someone had figured out who she was, and had gone to her home to try to ambush her."

"Was she ok?"

"Of course she was ok. The guy didn't stand a chance. But something about her mind-set changed. She didn't think she could protect her family any more, now that she'd come back, even though it was only for a few days. So this time, she left them, and came back to us. She stayed in contact through a family member, and watched you all grow up from a distance. And that's it."

"That's it? That can't be it. I need to know who she is. I want to meet her."

"You just did," Tanith said "your mother is Detective Valkyrie Cain."

* * *

The van pulled up outside the house. The orange light of the living room shone through the windows, casting shadows on the ground. The lights of the van shut off as Ghastly turned off the ignition.

"Remember, not a word of this to anyone. It's vitally important for everyone's safety." He said clearly, and she nodded. Lucia opened the car door, and Tanith followed her out, carrying her bag. They walked to the porch, and Tanith knocked on the door. They stood in silence for a few seconds.

"She does love you, you know. You three are all she ever thinks about." Tanith said quietly, and Lucia looked at her, but before she could say anything, the door was opened.

"Lucia? What are you doing back so late?" Her dad's eyes scanned over her, and then over Tanith with curiosity and suspicion.

"Sorry to intrude," Tanith said with a small smile, "I'm afraid she's not feeling well, so we thought it best to bring her home."

"You're not well?" His eyes were suddenly on her, filled with concern. "Come on, there's medicine in the cupboard. Thank you for bringing her home."

"No problem," Tanith replied smoothly "Get well soon, Lucia. It was nice meeting you properly."

"Y-yeah. You too." She had to hand it to her – Tanith was a good actress. Tanith handed John Lucia's bag, and turned, walking back to the van. Lucia stepped inside and John closed the door behind her.

"If you had called I would have come and picked you up." He said "What is it, a headache? Stomach ache?"

"Um, headache."

"I'll fetch the medicine. Who was that woman anyway?"

"Oh, her? She's Abigail's… cousin."

"Why didn't Abigail's mum bring you back?" Had she mentioned Abigail's parents weren't going to be in the house at the sleepover? Probably not…

"She had to stay to make sure the others didn't destroy the house." That sounded like something Abigail and her friends would do.

"Still, it would have been better than relying on their cousin to drive you. I'll call her in the morning."

"No, there's no need for that, everything's fine, I just have a headache, that's all."

"Mmm?" He raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Can I have some medicine now? I want to go to bed, I'm really tired." She yawned. He nodded.

"Well, it is late." He moved to the cupboard and fetched a medicine bottle. She took a spoonful, kissed her father goodnight, grabbed her bag, and went upstairs. The light in the hallway was off, and she fumbled for her door handle in the darkness. When she eventually found it, she opened the door and slipped inside, turning on the light.

"Hi there," she whipped around, and a hand pressed itself against her mouth. A moment of sheer terror engulfed her mind.

"Don't scream," the voice said, "It's just me." After a few seconds, he let go of her and she looked at him.

"Alex?" she whispered furiously "What are you doing here? My sister is across the hall and my dad's downstairs! And why are you in my bedroom? Get out!"

"I just came to say sorry," he whispered back, comically, his blonde hair sticking at slightly ridiculous angles. "I didn't mean to pretty much kidnap you,"

"I feel more sorry for you – Cain's going to kill you if you go back there anytime soon." It felt strange still calling her 'Cain'. Shouldn't she be calling her 'mum', instead?

"Believe me I know. Cain can be scary when she wants to be." He muttered, turning his away slightly.

"Do you know her well?" Alex might hold all the answers that Tanith and Ghastly wouldn't give her. They were full of praise for her mother, but the expression on Alex's face said otherwise.

"Not as well as some people." He answered "She's been training me for about four years now."

"What's she like?" She'd ask about what kind of 'training' it was later, that could wait. Right now, her brain was swirling. She needed to know more.

"She's…ok. She can be pretty harsh sometimes, and she doesn't give me many breaks, but my dad says she's doing what she should be doing, so, whatever, right?"

"Yeah, but, what do you mean by 'ok'? Is she happy, is she sad? What?"

"Cain's never really happy, not around me anyway. But then, I only see her during training. You'd be better off asking Skulduggery stuff like that, but, I doubt they'd let you back in."

"Skulduggery? Skulduggery who?" Alex took a sharp breath in.

"Did I mention a Skulduggery? Don't think I did."

"You did, I just heard you."

"I've already said too much-"

"I'm going to find out anyway." Lucia said stubbornly, "I won't stop looking for answers, so you might as well tell me now." He puffed up his cheeks and let the air out slowly.

"He's Cain's partner, or, more like she's his partner. They do everything together."

"So, what, are they dating or something?"

"What? No, no, no. Nothing like that. It'd be pretty weird if it was – there's kind of a big age gap between them, and some other stuff that I won't go into."

"What? Is he gay?" Alex burst out laughing.

"Shhh! My dad's downstairs!" He stifled his laughter, putting his hand up to his face.

"I'm sorry, but, but that was just the funniest thing I've ever heard anyone say about Skulduggery. No, he's not gay." Alex grinned.

"But, he does know Cain?"

"Yeah, they're best friends. You never see them apart. Cain even lives with him."

"Well then how do you know they're not dating?"

"Well, dad says that Cain got married at one point, but I don't think whoever it was and her are together anymore – if they are then I don't know why she'd live at Skulduggery's."  
"Did he say anything else about Cain?"

"No. He doesn't really talk about her that much. No one really does unless you're out to kill her, but I wouldn't try that either."  
"People try to kill her!"

"Of course they do. We all have people trying to get to us, Skulduggery and Valkyrie are just pretty popular on the 'People I want to kill' list for most bad guys. It comes with the job." There was a pause as Lucia took the information in. "Anyway, I'd better be going. Mum and dad will be wondering where I went, and I'm supposed to be grounded for bringing you into the Sanctuary."

"Why?"

"Well, it's against the rules, really."

"The rules?"

"Yeah. And Cain kind of freaked out for some reason. My parents won't tell me why, just told me I was in a lot of trouble."

"Sorry."

"It's not your fault." Footsteps sounded in the hallway.

"You'd better go," Lucia whispered quickly, before realising the only escape route was the window. "Um, you could hide under the bed until everyone's gone to bed, and then I'll sneak you-" She turned to face him, but there was no one to face. Alex had gone. "-out."


	13. 13 - Revelations

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Lucia woke up – and this time she really did have a headache. She had hardly slept at all, her head crammed full or conspiracy theories and unanswered questions. Who was the family member her mother had stayed in contact with? Why didn't they tell them anything? All the years her dad had been alone, she and Carol had been without a mum, why had Cain given them up? To protect them – that's what Tanith had said. But, surely, if she wanted it enough, they could have made it work. Why so many secrets? They could have made it work.

Lucia wished she wasn't ill, on today of all days - Saturday. She loved Saturdays. Saturdays were _her_ days, where she could do whatever she wanted, whether that was sleeping in, lazing around the house, or actually doing something, like going out with friends or spending a girly day with Carol and their Aunt Alice. _Aunt Alice_.

She sat up in bed with such suddenness that it made her head swim and throb instantly. Although her dad had never really talked about her mother, her grandparents had. They always said Alice and Stephanie were incredibly close despite the age gap between them. If they didn't know, and her dad didn't know, then, it had to be Alice… After all, they never talked to her Great Aunt Beryl or Great Uncle Fergus unless they were at a large family gathering, and her Aunt Crystal had moved away long ago after she recovered from anorexia.

She was about to jump out of bed and run to the phone when someone knocked on her door. She laid back down in her bed again and pulled the duvet up to her chin.

"Come in," she answered. The door opened slowly and Carol poked her head into the room before coming in.

"You don't look well," She said, closing the door behind her and sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"I'm not," Lucia answered. "What do you want?"

"Just came in to let you know that Dad's going to work."

"But it's Saturday,"

"I know," Carol said with an unimpressed roll of her eyes – although she didn't seem annoyed at Lucia. "They keep pushing him and pushing him. Personally, I think he's going to quit soon."

"But dad's had that job for years."

"Yeah, and they've never once treated him properly in all those years." Carol responded. Lucia pursed her lips into a thin line.

"But, what else would he do? Dad's always been a banker."

"Maybe he'll go look for another bank to work at." Carol responded. "But anyway, he's leaving in a few minutes. He told me to say bye. Oh, and the medicine's in the cupboard."  
"I know where the medicine is," Lucia rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well. I'm going to call Isabelle and cancel."

"What? But you and Isabelle have been planning on going to the cinema for weeks! You can't just bail on her now!"

"Well, yeah, but, you're ill. I have to stay home and take care of you."

"I'm fifteen, I'll be fine for a day by myself. Besides, it's just a headache. I'll probably be coming downstairs soon anyway."

"But-"

"Go and spend the day with Isabelle. I'll be fine." Carol looked at her.

"If you're sure…"

"I'm fine. Go. If I need anything I'll… I'll call Aunt Alice. She's not far away."

"Well, alright then. Just don't go anywhere, and don't open the door to anyone."  
"I'm not a baby anymore, Carol." Lucia rolled her eyes "I can look after myself."

"You keep telling yourself that." Carol said with a slight smile before standing. "Well, I'll go and get ready to meet Isabelle. I'll let you know when I'm leaving. Dad should be back for dinner tonight."

"Ok." Carol left the room with a wave, and Lucia waved back. As Carol closed the door, Lucia realised she was waving the arm she had injured the night before. She looked at it, rolled the sleeve of her onesie up, and saw the slight purple tinge of the patch of bruising on the part of the arm she had broken. It wasn't as bad as she'd thought it would have been, even after the green stuff had been put on it. It must have had super healing properties or something. She pulled the sleeve back down.

Lucia sat up, slower this time, letting her head accustom to the slight change in altitude, before she swung her legs over the side of the bed. The air was cold, and her dressing gown was in the wash.

"Only one thing for it," she muttered, and picked up the duvet as well, wrapping it around her like a cloak and dragging it downstairs with her. The warmth stayed around her like a buffer, knocking away the cold air. She hated the cold.

Collapsing onto the sofa, head first, she snuggled deeper into the duvet, and then groaned. Why did the television have to be so far away? She slid out from under the protection of the duvet and crawled to the television to turn it on, then hurried back and jumped back under the duvet. Typically, there was nothing good on the TV.

She heard Carol's footsteps coming down the stairs a few minutes later, and looked up. Carol was as prepared as ever, a bag on her bag full of whatever stuff she was taking with her.

"I have my phone with me. If you need me just ring."

"Yeah yeah." Lucia muttered as Carol unlocked the front door.

"See you later,"

"Bye, have a good time."

"I will." The door closed behind her, and Lucia was alone again. She looked around. Tanith had said her mother had been ambushed coming home, the guy hadn't stood a chance. As far as she was aware, they'd never moved houses. She wondered what it would have looked like, and almost pictured in her mind, and man dressed clad in black, waiting just around the corner, maybe the corner that led to the kitchen, listening to the front door as it opened, then closed. Maybe her mother had turned around to lock it, then he would have pounced, attacked. The next bit she couldn't imagine. How had her mother managed to get him off her, if the attack had been that way?

She muted the television, stood and went to the phone. The need for answers was just too much. Was Alice involved in the Sanctuary as well? Or was there a hidden relative that she didn't know about?

She felt the phone in her hand, heavy, as if someone had weighted it, as she dialled the number to the Edgely Estate. She pressed the phone to her ear, the ringing echoing into her throbbing head. After four rings, Alice picked up.

"Hello?"

"Aunt Alice? It's me, Lucia."

"Hi Lucia. How are you?"

"Ill."

"Oh, poor you. Is your dad looking after you?"

"No, he had to go to work."

"Carol then?"

"She's out with a friend."

"So you're all alone?"

"No," Lucia said slowly "Mum's with me." There was a long pause.

"W-what?"

"Mum's with me. She says hi."

"Ummm… you're lying aren't you."

"No."

"Then you're hallucinating."

"I don't think so."

"Lucia, honey, you know you're mum's not around. She hasn't been around for thirteen years."

"I know. That's why I called." There was the sound of a door opening in the background, and a pause.

"You little liar!" Alice's voice came back. "Your mum isn't there."

"How would you know that, Aunt Alice?"

"I'm not going to talk to you if you're going to lie to me – you scared me half to death."

"How do you know mum isn't with me, Aunt Alice?" There was a pause. "Is it because she's with you?"

"Get well soon Lucia." The dial tone resonated through Lucia's ear. She sighed angrily. _She_ was the liar! Well, ok, she had lied just then, but Alice had been lying for years! How long had she known her mum was still around? How many times had she feigned sadness around them all? Lucia put the phone down, almost angrily, and span around. Then she screamed.

"For God's sake, Alex! Stop creeping up on me!" Alex grinned apologetically.

"Sorry." It was then that Lucia realised she was still in her pyjamas. Oh well, a onesie wasn't that bad. But her hair was a mess.

"What are you doing here anyway?" She muttered, returning to the sofa.

"Just came to see how you were doing, that's all." He shrugged, sitting on the other sofa. "You coped with being attacked fairly well, I thought."

"I'm fine. Just ill." She muttered "How did you get in anyway. The door's locked."  
"I have my ways." He smiled slyly.

"And how did you get in and out last night too? And out of the council room? You just disappeared into thin air." He looked around slightly, and inched closer to her, so he was sat on the edge of the sofa.

"Ok, if I tell you a huge secret, you have to promise to keep it. You can't tell anyone. Ok?"

"Ok." She nodded. Any answers were better than none.

"Ok. I," there was a dramatic pause "am a teleporter." There was another pause.

"That's it?" Lucia asked, and he frowned.

"What do you mean 'that's it'?"

"Well, you just, jump around places?"  
"Well, yeah. But it's really cool. And there's only two teleporters left in the _world_. And I'm one of them."

"That is sort of cool." She said with a nod. He looked disappointed.

"Just 'sort of' cool?"

"Well, yeah, considering you keep scaring the hell out of me. Maybe if you stopped doing that, I'd think it was cooler. I should put a bell on you or something."

"A bell?"

"Yeah, like a cat collar. Or a cow-bell."

"I'm not wearing a cow-bell."

"Why not?"

"Because it's ridiculous. It would ruin my style."

"What style?"

"Too far. That's not fair."

"Whatever, I'm ill, I'm allowed to be unfair. What do you want anyway?" He shrugged.

"Just came to see how you were doing."

"Well, I'm fine. I just have a headache, that's all." She muttered. He wouldn't know anything about Alice, would he? No, he couldn't. He didn't even know Cain was her mother.

"What's Cain's first name?" She asked.

"Cain? Oh, it's Valkyrie."

"Valkyrie?"  
"Yeah."

"Valkyrie Cain." The name had a ring to it. But then, Stephanie Edgely was good too. "And her partner's called Skulduggery?"  
"That's right. Skulduggery Pleasant." That had a ring to it too. Tanith had said everyone who worked for the Sanctuary took a new name. She wondered what his had been, if there had ever been a 'before the Sanctuary' life for him.

"And you're Alex. And you're last name's Flicker." He smiled a little.

"No. My original name is Alex – that's what my mum calls me. I have a new name now."

"What is it?"

"Magnus. Magnus Flicker."

"So, you want me to call you Magnus?"

"That's what everyone else calls me."

"Ok." It was already making her head hurt – how could so many people have different names and still be the same people?

"Why are you asking so many questions?" Magnus asked her.

"I was attacked and taken to a super-secret placey-thingy, I think I should be able to ask questions." He sniggered.

"'Super-secret placey-thingy?'"

"Shut up."

"The Sanctuary is almost like a compound, a headquarters. But I think 'placey-thingy' definitely suits it – very sophisticated."  
"Shut up."  
"No. Anyway, what I meant was, why are you asking so many questions about Detective Cain and Detective Pleasant. I mean, I know they're interesting, but they're not _that_ interesting, especially not to you." She sat up, offended.

"Why shouldn't they be interesting to me?"

"Well, you don't know them. You don't know what they've done, so I don't see why you should be interested in them." He said, frowning. She slouched again, curling back into her duvet.

"I'm going to sleep now," she muttered.

"Ok." He shrugged. There was a pause.

"That's your cue to leave you know."

"I know. I just thought I'd better have your phone number, in case you need help again." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I can't be bothered to get up."

"Well, where's your phone, and I'll go and get it."  
"It's upstairs on my bedside cabinet."

"Ok," and he was gone. She blinked. Just, there, and then gone. He was back a second later, just popping back into existence, as if he'd always been there.

"Ok, that is cool." He grinned at her, and then took her phone number before handing her phone to her.

"Make sure to call me if you need help, or whatever."

"Ok, I'll call if I need help. Or whatever." She nodded, and he smiled at her.

"Get well soon." She grunted at him in response, and he was gone again. Without anyone there, she was suddenly lonely. It was painfully quiet.

She got up and went upstairs into her dad's bedroom. Rooting around in the wardrobe, she found what she was looking for – her parents wedding album. She brought it back downstairs and snuggled back into the duvet, opening the first page to look at a beautiful picture of her mother and father at the altar. Her mum was dressed in a long white gown, dark hair up in a messy bun, her father in a black suit. They were both smiling at each other. It wasn't fair – why had it had to go wrong?

She turned the page and looked at a picture of her mother standing next to her Maid of Honour – and Lucia took a sharp breath in. She'd seen the picture before, when she was smaller, but she'd never recognised the woman standing next to her mother. Now she did. It was Tanith, grinning happily, looking like she might have cried a little bit. They looked so happy together. And there, in another photo, her mother stood with both Tanith and Ghastly.

It was so frustrating – why hadn't she recognised them as soon as she'd seen them?! But, none of them looked any older, as if they'd been pulled right out of the picture to stand in the Sanctuary. They were all just wearing different clothes, that was all.

The mystery of her mother was getting bigger and bigger every second. And there was only one person who held all the answers. It was time to confront Valkyrie Cain.


	14. 14 - The Chat

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Valkyrie's fist had hit the punching bag for the hundredth time when Skulduggery walked into the training room.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"What does it look like?" She muttered, anger boiling inside her. Out of everything that could have happened, her daughter had been attacked! Because of her, again. She'd done everything she could to keep her daughter safe, and now those idiot hit men and Flicker had ruined it. Her daughter could have led any life she wanted; go to University, get a job, get married, have children, grow old in peace, but now, _now…_ If Lucia was anything like Valkyrie below the surface, she'd want answers. And if she had Valkyrie's determination, she would find out about the Sanctuary, about her, about everything she'd tried desperately to hide. And then? What would her gorgeous darling daughter do then?

"Well, it looks like you're trying to work out your anger on that poor innocent punching bag. But I get the feeling that's not what you're doing." Damn, why did he have to be right? Punching the bag was nothing but a distraction, the _real_ thing she wanted to punch was Flicker – but she sensed that wouldn't turn out too well with Fletcher and Jade…

"Shut up," she muttered, before steadying the punching bag with her hand and turning to look at him. He was leant against the wall in a dark blue pinstripe suit, his façade active.

"It was an accident Valkyrie."

"Doesn't matter. What matters is that she knows about the Sanctuary."

"It does matter, Val," Skulduggery said as he stood straight "because now people know you have a doppelganger, and from your reaction, they know she's important."

"Are you saying it's my fault?"

"I'm saying it's no one's fault, but what's done is done," he said seriously "and we have to fix it. Someone's out to kill you. That means they could use Lucia as bait." Valkyrie's blood ran cold – the thought of her baby in the hands of some of the people she had seen and met was too much to bear.

"What do we do?" She asked, her voice quiet, almost a whisper.

"It would be sensible to have her put on watch, so she's guarded."

"Cleavers?"

"That would be the best option. I take it you don't want any more people to know she's your daughter than are necessary."

"No. No, I don't want people to know."

"There's also the problem of someone tried to kill _you_."

"That's not a problem."

"It is if Flicker was right and the hit men were from Tremor. They said you were supposed to be carrying a bag. That means they must know about the plan to move the Sceptre of the Ancients."

"So, there's a spy in the Sanctuary?"

"It would seem so."

"That's not good."

"No it isn't."

"Hey, when we catch them, can I have some alone time with them?"

"To do what?"

"Punch their face in for attacking my daughter, obviously." A smile tugged at the corners of Skulduggery's mouth.

"You can have all the time you want."

"Great." Valkyrie rubbed her hands together, rolling her shoulders to get the stiffness out of them. "So, what's the plan?"

"I'm still working on it. The first thing we need to do is to post Cleavers around your house, and then find the men who attacked Lucia-"

"Can I take my gun with me? Or a knife? Or any blunt or sharp object?" She paused, thinking. "Actually, never mind, I'll just beat them up with my hands."

"-then we should at least have something to work on. We'll postpone the moving of the sceptre for now."

"That's it?"

"The plan _is_ a work in progress." There was a knock on the door. Both their heads turned to it.

"Come in." Skulduggery said, his voice sharp. The person that entered the door could have been the spy. How much might the spy have heard? The door slowly opened. Valkyrie prepared to fire a blast of air at whoever it might be.

Flicker poked his head around the door.

"Umm, I am ok to talk to Detective Cain?" The door slammed in his face – Valkyrie suspected he had only just missed having his head chopped off by a millisecond. She scowled as Skulduggery raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Shut up." She scowled again.

"Ok," Flicker said from beyond the door "I'll just wait here. It's kind of important though…" Skulduggery sighed and opened the door.

"What is it, Magnus?"

"Um, there's someone who wants to talk to Detective Cain." He said uneasily.

"Who?" Skulduggery answered. Flicker pointed to his right.

"Um, hi?" A little voice said, and Skulduggery looked back into the training room. He cleared his throat.

"Valkyrie, you may want to see your… visitor." She frowned.

"Why, who is it?" She walked forwards and Skulduggery stepped out of the way. She stepped out into the corridor and looked to where Flicker had pointed. Lucia waved slightly.

"Hi," she said, and for once, Valkyrie was lost for words.

She had spent a long, long time blackmailing Ale- Magnus, to take her back to the Sanctuary. Eventually, he had no option other than to say yes, or, more like, roll his eyes and take hold of her arm to teleport her to the Sanctuary (which was by far the strangest experience she had ever felt in her life). So, she wasn't very happy to be leaving again the minute she had arrived. The moment her mother saw her, Flicker had been practically ordered to teleport them outside. Then she'd been bundled into a black car, and they were away again.

She could tell she had shocked her mother, but then she doubted she was expected back there. The atmosphere in the car was eerily, uncomfortably silent.

"So," Lucia said "What kind of car is this."

"It's a 1954 Bentley R-Type Continental, one of only 208 ever made. It has a six-cylinder, 4.5-litre engine and it's been retro-fitted with central locking, climate control, satellite navigation and a host of other modern conveniences." was the answer she got.

"I would have been happy with 'it's a Bentley'." Lucia replied. She saw Valkyrie smile slightly as Skulduggery flustered.

"It's absolutely important to know every detail about such an amazing car. To simple say 'it's a Bentley' is the biggest injustice I've ever heard in my life." He said sternly in an insulted tone. He continued muttering for the rest of the journey, until they pulled up at a house between two funeral parlours.

"Urgh, nice place to settle down." Lucia muttered, looking at the tombstones on display in the window.

"Yes, it is rather ironic." Skulduggery muttered.

"Why?" Lucia asked. Valkyrie and Skulduggery glanced at each other.

"How about we play the quiet game." Valkyrie suggested as Skulduggery turned off the ignition.

"I'm not two, mum." Lucia said with a roll of her eyes, and she almost missed the way Valkyrie froze in her seat. Valkyrie's head slowly turned to her.

"W-what did you call me?"

"Well, mum, I guess." Valkyrie took a sharp breath in as if she had forgotten how to breathe. Then her eyes dropped to the floor, and she looked away, pausing for a second before opening the car door and getting out. Skulduggery followed suit, and after a moment, so did Lucia.

Skulduggery led the way up to the house, unlocked the door, and they walked in behind him. The first thought that popped into Lucia's head when she saw the room they walked into was: 'oh'. There were two armchairs in the room, a small bookcase in one corner, and a hat and coat rack by the door. Apart from that, the room had nothing. It was all very bare. Her mother sent her a very strict 'don't say anything' look.

"Well, I'm going to look up some case files. I'll be in the back room if you need anything." Skulduggery said, putting his hands in the pockets of his suit and strolling off into another room. There was the sound of a door closing.

Valkyrie walked past her into the room, putting her hat on the hat rack.

"Well, come in then," she said, sitting down on one of the chairs. Lucia walked over slowly, and sat on the very edge of the other one uncomfortably.

"So, I assume you wanted to talk to me?" Valkyrie said, not looking at her.

"Yeah," Lucia responded quietly "yeah, I did." Now that they were there though, what was there to say, other than the one question that had been dominating her mind? "Why did you leave?" A few moments of silence passed before Valkyrie cleared her throat to answer.

"I didn't have any other option."

"You could have told dad. We could have made it work."

"No. Nothing could have made it work. I should have realised that a long time ago, but… well, I've always been told I'm selfish. I guess it's true."

"Selfish?"

"I joined the Sanctuary when I was twelve. All I wanted was an adventure, a way to break up my boring old life. Nothing ever happened in Haggard, _ever_. When the opportunity to do this came up… I didn't think about my parents – your grandparents. I didn't think about my future. I didn't think about anything. Just me."

"But, you left them."  
"I left them too late. I'd already made six years-worth of enemies. Trust me, a lot of people want my head on a platter." She said with a scoff "I left when I was eighteen, because I had put my parents and my sister in danger. I thought I could just, push it all away. Forget everything."

"But you came back."

"They needed me."

"Couldn't they have gotten someone else to sort it out?"

"It was kind of… personal. If I didn't help there was the possibility the Sanctuary, and even the world, could have been destroyed."

"That's a bit melodramatic isn't it?" Valkyrie barked a laugh.

"Not even a little bit. That's how serious things get around here."

"Come on, the whole world being _destroyed_?"

"Absolutely. There was a lot at stake. That's why I had to go back. And afterwards…I realised I couldn't protect you kids, or your father, while I was around. I had to protect you from a distance. If people didn't associate you with me, then they wouldn't target you. That's why I left."

"But-"

"It is what it is, Lucia. I made my bed, now I have to lie in it." Valkyrie was quiet for a minute, thinking.

"So, what happens now?"

"What do you mean?" Valkyrie asked.

"Well, I know about the Sanctuary. So, what happens?"

" 've only scraped the very surface of what the Sanctuary is, of what goes on within it. You'll go home, and you'll live a normal life. You'll pretend this never happened, like I will."

"But, I don't want that." Lucia said, suddenly sitting up straight. "I want to remember. I met _you_, mum. Do you know how long I've wanted that? Just to ask what made us so horrible that you had to leave us?"

"Lucia-"

"I don't _want_ to forget, mum. I want to see more. I _know_ you've been in contact with Aunt Alice, why can't you do the same with me?"

"It's different with Alice."

"What's so different?"

"Alice doesn't know anything. She takes photographs of you every year so I can watch you grow up, she passes on birthday cards and Christmas presents. She doesn't know what I do, where I am, she doesn't even know I have another name. All she knows is that I'm gone and can't see you anymore. That's it."

"But-"

"No, Lucia. It's not going to happen."

"What if I stay of my own accord? You couldn't do anything about it."

"Of course I could. I could make sure you don't get within ten miles of the nearest Sanctuary entry, and you wouldn't even know about it."

"But I know Magnus."

"And if Magnus does anything to remain in contact with you, he'd be in a _lot_ of trouble, not just with me, but with the Sanctuary itself."

"Why?"

"We're not supposed to tell people about the Sanctuary, much less involve people."

"But you got involved."

"I was the exception."

"That's not fair."

"Life's rarely _fair_, Lucia. You're a smart girl, I thought you would have realised that by now."

* * *

The argument had gone on for a while until Valkyrie's phone buzzed. She pulled it out of her pocket and answered it.

"Hello?" Lucia heard distressed muttering on the other end of the line, but couldn't make out who it was or what they were saying. Valkyrie's eyes darted to Lucia.

"I know where she is. Tell him she's on her way home." More muttering "No, I'll bring her myself." Valkyrie hung up the phone and looked sternly at Lucia.

"You didn't tell me you were home _alone_."

"I didn't think it was important."

"Didn't you? Well, your father's come home, and you're not there. He's worried sick."

"Oops…"

"Yeah, 'oops'." Valkyrie said angrily as she stood. "Skulduggery!"

"What is it?" The smooth voiced reply came from the back room.

"We've got to go." The door opened, and Skulduggery strolled out.

"Why?"  
"Lucia needs to go home now."

"Shouldn't we get Tanith or Ghastly to do that? Or even Alice?"

"No, this time, I'll do it myself."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"It'll get the message across." Valkyrie said with a grim nod. Skulduggery sighed.

"Well, let's go then." Valkyrie followed him to the front door, and Lucia scurried after them. She was going to be in so much _trouble_.

They got in the Bentley silently and the engine purred to life. The sun was setting as they drove down Lucia's street and pulled up on the kerb.

"I'll only be a few minutes." Valkyrie muttered. Skulduggery nodded.

"Take your time." She got out, and Lucia followed her glumly, standing next to her on the porch as Valkyrie knocked on the door. It flew open almost instantly, and Lucia immediately saw the worry on her father's face pale away to shock as he saw the two of them. A gurgling noise escaped his mouth.

"You," Valkyrie said to her, "In. Now." She nodded quickly and scurried past her father into the house. Carol immediately jumped up to meet her and wrapped her in a tight hug.

"Oh my God Lucia I was so worried about you! Why didn't you leave a note, or call, or _something_! Where were you?"

"Ummm." Her father and Valkyrie walked into the house, and Carol's face also paled. John was looking at Valkyrie like she was a ghost. Valkyrie reached into her pocket and pulled out a card.

"John, keep your eye on her constantly from now on. If she goes missing again, call this number. It's _only_ for emergencies, do you understand?" He didn't take the card, but just stared some more. She rolled her eyes and put the card in his hand for him. "_Only_ for emergencies, John."

"Steph…"

"And you," she turned to Lucia "Stay here." She gave her a warning stare, looked at her oldest daughter, took another sharp breath in, and then turned around, the sound of the front door closing indicating her exit. All eyes turned to Lucia.

"You have some explaining to do young lady." Lucia gulped.

"Yeah…"


	15. 15 - Kidnapped

**A little shorter than I'd like, but I hope you enjoy anyway! :)**

**Just a reminder, the series of one-shots from between 'Lending a Helping Hand' and 'Can't Let Go' will be being posted on the 25th of december, and that will propbably be updated a few times in the New Year, so be expecting that, and I'll put up a link to it on here so you can all find it :) And that ****_will_**** be a HP crossover, as well, so be expecting some characters to make an epic return!**

**Enjoy**

* * *

Lucia didn't dare tell them about the Sanctuary, or Alice, or Magnus, of the fact that Magnus could teleport wherever he wanted whenever he wanted. It all just seemed too crazy when she ran it through her mind. So, instead, she said she'd seen her mum (she made sure to say 'Stephanie' and not 'Valkyrie') walking down the street through the window, and had run after her. They'd gone back to Stephanie's house and had a little chat about school and life, and that was that.

John sat, pale and still, hardly taking any of it in, but Lucia got the feeling he knew she was lying. Purely from the seriousness of Valkyrie actually turning up at the house, he knew a 'little chat' hadn't been what had happened. Carol disappeared to her room, and after she'd finished lying, Lucia went to her room too.

The stairs creaked beneath her feet, her head swimming. Valkyrie had said her life had been boring, she'd wanted and adventure, and all the while Lucia had felt like she was describing _her_ life. The same routine over and over, the same school work, the same single minded people. Her life was… boring. It felt like déjà vu. Did she need a solution as well?

She opened her bedroom door, and saw that the room was dark, the curtains still drawn shut from that morning. The air was chillier, but she thought nothing of it as she closed the door behind her and fumbled for the light switch. She found it, and flicked it, but nothing happened.

"What the… power cut?" she grumbled, flicking it more. She rolled her eyes in the darkness. Her dad was hardly in the mood for sorting out the fuse box.

"Perhaps I can shed a little light on the situation," a deep voice said behind her, and that was the last thing she heard as the whole world went black.

* * *

Morning brought nothing for Valkyrie, except the signal of a new day. She sat in the library of the Sanctuary, twiddling her thumbs and thinking. Going to the house might not have looked like the smartest move in the world, but it would have made sure that John knew how important it was that Lucia had to stay at home, away from her. And he had her card, so she'd know immediately if anything was wrong.

The years hadn't been kind to him. He looked a lot older, a lot more tired, a lot more…sad. She felt guilt prick at her and pushed it aside. She'd made the only decision she could, and that was that. The thought of Lucia being involved with the Sanctuary scared her though. Her daughter, working at this place? Yes, it could be amazing, and the good memories she'd accumulated were priceless, but it was also dangerous beyond compare. How many times had she nearly been killed? How many times had Darquesse nearly destroyed the world? A good mother put their children's safety above all else, right?

'_It looks like you've just made one error after another, to me_' Darquesse sniggered.

"Shut up, you. No one asked for your opinion."

'_Exactly, because you know what my input will be, because I am right_.'

"Your logic is shockingly bad."

'_Speak for yourself,' _Darquesse replied. Valkyrie sighed and then stood. She could be a little early to the meeting. She ran into Skulduggery on the way out of the library.

"I was just looking for you," Skulduggery said, "The meeting's been pushed forward."

"To when?"

"A few minutes ago."

"Ah,"

"Indeed. Shall we go?"

"I think that's best." Valkyrie nodded, and fell into step beside him as they made their way to the council room. They strode in, and Valkyrie's eyes immediately landed on Magnus, who was looking rather embarrassed, like he'd just been scolded by Fletcher, who stood beside him grimly. China, Ghastly and Dexter were stood with Magnus and Fletcher, not sat in their chairs like they normally were. Skulduggery closed the door behind them.

"So, what's this top secret meeting all about?" Skulduggery asked as they strolled in.

"As if you don't already know," China responded "It's about the supposed spy you alerted us to. Do you have any suspects yet?"

"A few."

"Anyone definite?"

"Not yet. We'll have to pull us some more files, do some cross examinations and then some observations. We'll also probably need to CCTV footage from the Sanctuary's cameras."

"As long as it's sorted quickly. We can't afford another massacre, or another relocation." Valkyrie's phone rang.

"Sorry," she muttered before answering it. "Hello?"

"_Stephanie! Steph it's me, John!"_

"What is it? If this isn't an emergency-"

"_Lucia's missing!_" Valkyrie's heart skipped a beat.

"What?"

"_I went into her room this morning to wake her up and, oh God, it's a mess! The window's open, things thrown everywhere, I can't find her!_"

"I'm on my way. Don't touch _anything_." She hung up and looked immediately to Skulduggery.

"Lucia's missing." She said, her throat constricting around the words.

"Go," Ghastly said immediately "We'll sort the spy out later. Go." Both Valkyrie and Skulduggery nodded and Magnus jumped forwards.

"I'll teleport you." Valkyrie didn't stop to ask how he knew where Lucia lived, but nodded and grabbed his arm. A second later they were standing outside of the house. Valkyrie ran up to the front door and knocked rapidly. It opened immediately, and she ran inside, Skulduggery following her. She ran into John at the top of the stairs, and he hurried with her to their daughter's room.

'_That doesn't look good_' Darquesse muttered, for once not sounding condescending, and she was right. The dresser had been overturned, books, papers and an array of other things littering the floor. The window was open, not broken, and the curtains shuddered in the sharp breeze. Valkyrie felt her chest tightening, her heart failing, thousands of names of the convicts who'd wanted revenge against her swimming through her brain.

"When was the last time you saw her?" She heard Skulduggery ask John.

"Last night, after she got in." He replied, and Valkyrie could hear the uncertainty in his voice. She stepped forwards and stuck her head out of the window. Behind her she heard Skulduggery move the door.

"Val," she turned, and saw that Skulduggery was looking at something on the back of the door. She moved to him and looked at it. It was a note stuck to the back of the door, written in dripping black ink.

'_At least it's not written in blood,_' Darquesse muttered as Valkyrie picked the note up and looked at it,

**_COME AND GET HER CAIN_**

it read. So it was her fault.

"There were only a few people that knew the truth, Val. This isn't some random criminal."

"The spy?"

"I think so." Who had been in the council room? Ghastly, Dexter, China, Magnus, Skulduggery, her, and Lucia. That was it. Jade had seen her before, and Tanith had seen her afterwards.

"Magnus," At the sound of Skulduggery's voice, Valkyrie looked up unexpectedly, before realising he was talking _to_ Magnus, not accusing him. He was stood outside of the doorway, behind John, looking worried. "When you first found her, who did you tell?"

"No one, I don't think. Mum, the Grand Mage… wait, no, I was _looking_ for the Grand Mage, and the administrator asked what I was doing."

"You talked to the administrator."

"Y-yeah, I think so. I told him there was a doppelganger."

"Did he react strangely?"

"No, just nodded and told me where to find the Grand Mage."

"No one else who knew would have done anything like this," Valkyrie muttered. Skulduggery was already pulling out his phone and pressing the speed dial button. There was a pause as it rang, then was picked up.

"Ghastly, where's the administrator?" Another pause. "What's his address? Right. No, not yet. Will do." He hung up the phone. Valkyrie looked at him.

"The administrator called in sick this morning. He lives on the other side of Dublin. I've told Ghastly we'll ring to deploy the cleavers when we know for definite that he's the one who's taken her." Valkyrie nodded.

"Let's go."  
"I teleported the Bentley outside." Magnus said quickly.  
"Good. Thanks." Valkyrie said, and led the way out of the house back to the Bentley.

"If you're going to get her back, then you're not leaving me behind." A voice said as she walked out of the front door. She turned to look at John. "She's my daughter too. I raised her. I'm not going to wait around and twiddle my thumbs while she's in danger."

"This sort of thing could be dangerous Johnathan, and you don't have the training to deal with it." Valkyrie replied "You'd be more help here."

"Well that's tough, because I'm coming." He responded bluntly.

"We're wasting time," Valkyrie said, frustrated. "You're staying here. We'll call you when we find her." She didn't wait for his response, turned and hurried to the Bentley. Skulduggery immediately drove away at top speed towards the administrator's address, and pushed a pair of blue lights to the back windscreen – it was easier for people to think they were an undercover police car, rather than getting chased themselves _by_ police for speeding.

"I swear to God if there's so much as a single scratch on her when we get there-"

"Then we will make a very good excuse as to why the man ends up dead." Skulduggery finished her sentence for her, though her version would have contained many swear words.

They sped through red lights and down streets, cars pulling over slightly for them, each driver wondering what the commotion was.

"This is the place," Skulduggery said as they pulled into view of a rundown street. Valkyrie couldn't imagine the administrator living in such a place to begin with, much less being so stupid as to put down this as his correct address. It all seemed too… convenient. No cars, no civilians, a quiet out of the way place.

"It's an ambush, isn't it?" She whispered. Skulduggery glanced to her, then gave a small sharp nod. "What's the plan?"

"Walk right into their ambush and foil them with our amazing expertise." He muttered. She nodded a little as he pulled the Bentley up on the kerb. She pulled out her gun, and stepped out.

"It's that one," Skulduggery said with a gesture of his head to the house across the road – if you could call it a house. Valkyrie nodded, and followed him across the road, her eyes scanning the rooftops for guns or convicts. She couldn't see any, but that didn't necessarily mean they weren't there. Chills shuddered down Valkyrie's spine as she realised how open they were – to willingly walk into an ambush seemed to go against all of her training instincts.

They reached the front door, and Skulduggery kicked it down with one swift kick.

They ran in.


	16. 16 - The Rescue, pt 1

**I'm SO SORRY! I haven't updated in ages compared to my normal update rate BUT I have a perfectly valid explanation. See, I was nearly finished with the chapter on Tuesday, and was going to post it on Wednesday morning, BUT, I only keep one copy of each chapter which is stored on my memory sitck so I can work on it on different computers/in different places. BUT I left my memory stick in my bag, and then left my bag at my freinds house, so I haven't had my memory stick all week and couldn't updated. But I got my bag back today! So I posted the chapter as quickly as I could, just to get something out there to you guys, which means I've split the chapter into two parts so I can finish writing the second part without you guys not having anything to read. So! There you have it, the reason I haven't updated is because the chapter was on my memory stick, which I left at my freinds house.**

**Sorry for the bad quality and shortness! Enjoy (hopefully)!**

* * *

The wall-walkers were on them before they even had the chance to get fully through the door. Valkyrie slammed an elbow into one, punched another in the face, and then was kicked in the stomach with the force of a train. The air was knocked out of her as she stumbled and something sharp was stuck into her neck. She pulled away and snapped her palm at the air, sending them careering through the wall. She span, grabbed someone's hair and slammed it down to meet her kneecap, both hearing and feeling the crunch of his/her nose as it broke into a thousand tiny little pieces. She heard Skulduggery taking out a few attackers of his own before someone else jumped on her, aiming a hunting knife at her throat. She flipped them over her shoulder and elbowed their sternum, kneeing them in the stomach. They wheezed as she wrenched the knife from their hand and stabbed the edge of their clothing to the floor, giving them one final kick to knock them unconscious. Her vision was fuzzy, slightly dazed and blurred, dark spots in front of her eyes. The rumbling Darquesse's presence created in her mind grew louder, so she pushed it back down, made it quitter, subdued Darquesse. Not now.

She looked around her for a moment, blinking, and paused, leaning on the wall slightly as she realised Skulduggery was taking care of the last one. It was all too easy…They hadn't even needed to use their guns. Clearly Skulduggery was thinking the same thing. There had to be more attackers around. She tripped slightly when she took her first step, but after that her energy seemed to come back to her, and she looked around seriously.

The staircase and all doors except for one on the left seemed to have been collapsed in on themselves, rubble and wooden planks burying the entrances. They hurried through the only open doorway into what looked like it may once have been a living room – except no one had ever seemed to do any 'living' in it. The walls were rotting with damp, mould growing in the corners, the sounds of the scuttle of bugs' legs crawling across the wooden floor sent goosebumps along Valkyrie's arms. The smell suggested someone had died there – a very long time ago – and the corpse just simply hadn't been removed. There was a hatch in the middle of the floor that held a ladder, going down in the darkness. Definitely a trap, but everywhere else was blocked off – the administrator, or whoever was in control of the grand scheme of things, had to be down there. And Lucia would be with them. If the situation were any less serious, Valkyrie might have made a little joke, like 'age before beauty' as a funny way of saying 'you go first', but her daughter was down there, she was sure of it. She moved to the hatch and dropped down through the hole, using the air to buffer her landing, moving away so Skulduggery could follow. It was pitch black, but she could still sense him next to her. He clicked his fingers, and a fireball appeared, lighting the way slightly.

They were in a long dark tunnel that stretched both ways. Valkyrie clicked her own fingers and summoned her own fireball in the palm of her hand, holding it up to the ceiling to see if there were any hidden traps up there.

'_Let me out_' Darquesse urged '_I can help_'. Often when Darquesse said 'I can help', she was usually referring to helping destroy the world, or was being incredibly cynical, but this time, she sounded genuine, as if she actually really _cared_ about Lucia's safety.

'_Of course I do_', she said, reading Valkyrie's mind '_She's my daughter as well_.'

Skulduggery was watching her, and she shook her head before starting walking. The tunnel was only really wide enough for one person, but she could tell Skulduggery was right behind her, as close as he could be without stepping on her.

The only sounds were the echo of their footsteps eerily drifting back up from their feet to their ears.

"I don't like this," Valkyrie whispered. Skulduggery didn't reply, so she looked over her shoulder to make sure he was still there. Nothing. She stopped, and the sound of footsteps stopped along with her. It was dark, and Skulduggery wasn't there. Had he been picked off? Had someone attacked him with a cloaking sphere?

"Skulduggery?" She called out, and her voice echoed through the tunnel in the direction she had just walked.

"_Mum!_" Lucia's voice echoed from the other end. She turned.

"Lucia?"

"_Mum!_" Her feet were moving, and it took her a second to realise she was running towards the sound of her daughter's voice. A door suddenly loomed in front of her, at the end of the tunnel, slivers of light shining from underneath it.

"_Mum!_" Lucia's voice was just beyond the door, she could _feel_ it. She increased her speed, prepared to ram it down with her shoulder, and Darquesse appeared in front of her. She skidded to a halt, panting.

"W-what?" Darquesse looked at her solemnly.

"I really think _I_ should have been the detective, you know. I'm way more observant."

"What? But… you…she-"

"Didn't you notice why your neck hurt during that fight?" Darquesse said, raising an eyebrow "Didn't you see the syringe?"

"Syringe?"

"_Mum!_" The voice still came, more desperate now.

"Lucia…" Valkyrie's voice trailed off as Darquesse looked at her, that exact replica of herself just staring blankly.

"She's not calling for you to help her, Valkyrie. She's calling because you're _asleep_."

"Asleep?"

"They sedated you. Did you think they weren't expecting you to come in all guns blazing? They were prepared for you. If you let me out, I can wake you up, and we can get the bastards that took our daughter."

"We?"

"We'll do it together. Admit it – there's so much more enjoyment when _I'm_ the one doing the killing. And I'm the only way you're going to wake up any time soon. Or, we can stay here, listening to our daughter panicking over what she thinks is our dead body while someone does who knows what to her."

"How do I know you won't kill everyone, including her?"

"Val, we're the same person. That's how I know." Valkyrie looked to the door. Surely she could wake up by herself – the fact that Darquesse stood in front of her was more than enough proof that she was asleep. Darquesse couldn't appear when she was awake. It wasn't possible. But she couldn't trust Darquesse. You could never trust Darquesse.

"We haven't got all day, Valkyrie," Darquesse murmured, "You're used to quick decisions. I suggest you make one now."

"I don't trust you. I can't let you out."

"Then you'll just have to wake up naturally, which could take, oh, a few days maybe? We don't know what's happened to Skulduggery, and we certainly don't know what's happening to Lucia. John will be at home, won't he? Waiting for the call to say she's safe and everything's fine. I wonder how long it would take for him to come looking for her himself. I'm sure it would take less than a day." The sound of a door opening echoed down the tunnel from a long way away, heavy footsteps seemingly entering the tunnel, walking across tile or concrete.

"_Mum? Mum, wake up. You need to wake up_." Lucia's sentence was broken off with a scream. Valkyrie's heart pounded as she glared at Darquesse, who was glaring with pure hate in the direction of the sound.

"Do it."

"With pleasure," Darquesse growled, and Valkyrie felt her subconscious be forced back. She let it happen, and the tunnel disappeared before her eyes.

Darquesse opened her eyes to realise she was under a bright light. The rest of the room was dark. It seemed there was only one light in the room. Darquesse was on her back – that much she knew. She rolled over and felt the shadows coil to her feet as she stood. There was a closed metal door behind her that was probably reinforced. Not a problem. She looked in the other direction and saw the outline of a figure in the darkness. Darquesse clicked her fingers and threw her arm in a circle. Fire swamped the floor in a large ring that encircled both her and the figure. The fire lit up the room with an eerie glow as it crackled and flickered. Darquesse glared at the figure of the man that loomed over her daughter, whose eyes were wide with fright. The man turned and looked at her.

"You weren't supposed to wake up ye-" She stormed over and grabbed his arm, twisting it swiftly, a large _snap_ echoing throughout the room. The man howled as she kicked his legs out from under him to make him kneel, and then grabbed the side of his head and span it for a second snap. As his neck broke, his body slumped to the floor. Lucia whimpered. Darquesse grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet, not speaking, and led her towards the door. One kick was all was needed to break the door off its hinges and send it crashing to the floor. She pulled Lucia with her as they walked into another tunnel, though they were most definitely awake. A guard came out of a door on the left and spotted them instantly. His head exploded before he could call for help, causing Lucia to squeak a little squeal of fear. Darquesse didn't care.

"M-mum? How... how did that… the fire, and the door, and, and that man…"

"Shhh." Darquesse hissed. If they were spotted now it wouldn't be pretty. She'd get Lucia out first, and _then_ come back and kill them. Finding Skulduggery was probably a good idea as well – if anyone was going to kill him, it was going to be _her_.

She pulled Lucia onwards, her ears constantly aware of every sound around them, from their footsteps to their synchronised beating hearts.

"Mum? Talk to me. Answer me. If you don't answer me I'll… I'll scream."

"If you scream I'll kill you myself." Darquesse muttered darkly, but it was loud enough for Lucia to hear, and significant enough that she went silent. Darquesse could feel Valkyrie practically howling inside her head. _Just get her out of there! '_Working on it,' she felt like replying, but suspected if she said it aloud, Valkyrie would only protest more.

A chatter of voices began to emanate from the end of the corridor they were walking down. Someone had entered the corridor from one of the doors running along the sides, and they had friends. Darquesse clamped her hand over Lucia's mouth and dragged her through one of the doors, then quickly turned to see if anyone was in the room with them. One man stared perplexedly, glasses tilted slightly on his nose. Darquesse focused on her magic, and his heart stopped beating. A gurgling sound escaped his lips before he collapsed into a heap. Lucia watched with wide eyes, Darquesse's hand still over her mouth as Darquesse turned her head back to the door, listening to the voices as they passed the door.

"… can't believe they managed to get them like that…"

"…heard the skeleton was being kept in the highest-security…"

"…keeping Cain with the kid really a good idea?..."

As they faded, Lucia broke free and pushed Darquesse away, hurrying to the fallen man. She put her fingers to his neck, and paused.

"Y-you killed him. But how…I don't understand."

"You know, for someone related to me, you're not very good at working things out." Darquesse muttered, opening the door slightly to check if the coast was clear. "Let's go."

"I don't want to go anywhere with you." Lucia responded strongly, standing and facing Darquesse with a stormy, betrayed look in her eyes. "You're not my mum. My mum wouldn't kill people. She wouldn't do this. You're not her."

"That's a very strong argument coming from someone whose only known her for the whole of five minutes," Darquesse said with a grin, and Lucia's bottom lip trembled, "but, you are right, in a way. I am your mum, I'm just the part you haven't met yet."

"What?"

"Everything will be explained, in time. But right now, we need to get out of here. So you can either stay here and risk our chances of getting caught again, in which case, I'll _have_ to dispose of more people. Or, we can go now, while it's quiet, and sneak our way out. Your choice." Darquesse folded her arms and leant up against the door she had opened, watching intently as Lucia struggled internally.

"Ok, fine." She said eventually "We'll go."

"I knew you'd see it my way." Darquesse smiled, resisting the urge to add on 'Valkyrie always does, in the end'. She pulled Lucia forwards, and out back into the corridor, walking briskly.

"What about your friend? Detective Pleasant? Wasn't he with you?"

"He'll find his own way out." Darquesse said dismissively "And if he doesn't, I'll go back in for him, after you're out of here." Inside her head, Valkyrie didn't know whether to cheer or cry. Lucia was getting out, but when Darquesse said 'go back in for him', she knew _exactly_ what she meant. If Skulduggery wasn't careful, he wouldn't be getting out of this encounter alive… metaphorically.


	17. 17 - The rescue, pt 2

**Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate it! Have a great day! And be sure to check out the series of One-shots called 'The Snippets' whihc is a Harry Potter Skulduggery Pleasant Crossover, which ****_will_**** be being updated, as I have not yet finished them all (due to a certain memory stick loss). Be sure to comment after this chapter, I really want to know your opinions after this one! **

**Enjoy! (Bwhahahaha...)**

* * *

Darquesse was starting to regret ever agreeing to not killing Lucia straight away. She was _annoying_. Question after question after question, why couldn't she just be satisfied with 'everything will be explained later'? And when she wasn't asking questions, she was almost whimpering. Darquesse rolled her eyes. As Skulduggery had said the first day he met her – met Valkyrie, whatever – he'd said she didn't suffer fools gladly. Boy, wasn't that the truth. It was just, she'd been around mages for so long, and for the most part they were all brave, courageous. None of _them_ whimpered unless they were in serious pain and couldn't hold it in. She had to keep reminding herself that Lucia was a mortal teenage girl, not a fighter, not a mage, just a mortal. She even had to remind herself that Lucia didn't even know magic _existed_. Just like Desmond, she'd be a descendant of the ancients that was completely oblivious to their heritage. Shame. It seemed such a waste of potential.

'_Don't you dare,_' Valkyrie growled inside her mind. Darquesse rolled her eyes, and then smirked, not answering.

"Do you remember which way they brought you in?" Darquesse barked.

"No," Lucia answered "I had a bag over my head." Great, just _great_. It wasn't as if Darquesse knew where she was going. She was even considering blowing a hole in the roof and just flying out, but if it was day outside, that might look a _little_ conspicuous. If they didn't get out soon though-

Alarms suddenly blared out obnoxiously, whirring and pounding their eardrums as red lights suddenly flashed overhead.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me," Darquesse growled. On any other day, she would have loved this – everyone rushing to her. More to kill. More fun to be had. But with Lucia stood next to her, there just seemed to be something a little, well, _wrong_, with that. Maybe it was Valkyrie's influence over her (after all she hadn't been unleashed for at least thirteen years), but whatever ever it was, she didn't like it.

"What's happening?" Lucia whimpered.

"Someone must have found the body in the cell," Darquesse glowered, pulling her daughter along. She classed her as her daughter, but there seemed to be absolutely no resemblance to her at all. Or even Valkyrie. She looked the same, and was a little stubborn. There was no other aspect of personality that resembled the two at all. It was a little disappointing.

There was a four way junction of tunnels in front of them: the question was, to go left, right or forwards? That question was soon answered as guards poured in around the corner from the left, and a second set appeared at the end of the tunnel in front of them.

"This is going to get ugly," Darquesse said, and she couldn't help but grin. A little ugly might help her to get back into the spirit of things. She raised her palm, prepared to strike with winds a hurricane speed, but before she could push against the air, the guards on the left all flew backwards, colliding into each other. She stared in puzzlement for a second, until Skulduggery rounded the corner on the right. He looked at them for a second.

"Just the people I was looking for," he said, and Darquesse glowered as she stormed forwards, dragging Lucia behind her.

"Do you know the way out?"

"I'm relatively positive it's that way," he said, pointing to the corridor on the left, to where he had just sprawled the guards.

"Then let's get out of here," she muttered, and strode forwards, feeling Skulduggery watching her. He probably knew she wasn't Valkyrie, even though they'd only exchanged 4 sentences between them. But he was annoying like that. He was difficult to trick. She could imitate Valkyrie perfectly, and he'd still know it wasn't her.

Still, there was time for that later.

Only a few of the guards had been knocked unconscious, the rest were pulling themselves to their feet at an alarmingly fast rate. Darquesse pushed her hand forwards, and instead of wind knocking them off their feet, it was the shadows, which then clung to them, dragging them back to the floor, choking a few as she squirmed and struggled. They ran through the mass, and as soon as they had, she clicked her fingers, and each of the guards dropped dead. Well, if Skulduggery hadn't known it was her before, he did now.

"Which door is it?" Darquesse demanded.

"Last one. Right hand side." Skulduggery answered her bluntly. Yep, he knew.

"How did they catch you?" she asked curiously.

"I saw Valkyrie passing out and went to catch her and they got me from behind. They were definitely prepared for us."

"That's what I told her," Darquesse smirked as she spotted the last door on the right. She had to admit, if Skulduggery hadn't pointed it out, she never would have thought it was the exit. It looked exactly the same as all the other doors. There was nothing special looking about it. The entire complex was just a maze of identical doors and tunnel-like corridors. Very irritating.

Skulduggery got to the door first, tried the handle, and then kicked it down instead when he realised it was locked. It landed on the ground with a loud metallic 'thud'. A guard looked up bewilderedly, and then got Skulduggery's gloved fist to his face.

The alarms were still blaring, red lights still flashing as they ran up a long staircase on the right of the room. It seemed never ending, and Darquesse was almost contemplating just flying the rest of the way when everything went black. There were no lights installed in the newest section of staircase, and no windows. She felt Lucia's hand clench her own even tighter.

"It's not much further," Skulduggery said from just ahead. The alarms could still be heard in the distance, quieter now, almost dulled against the sound of their footsteps echoing on the walls.

Darquesse heard a door open, and light flooded the passage as they stumbled into the light. They were back in the house Skulduggery and Valkyrie had first entered to save Lucia. Then they were outside in the sunlight. It must have been mid-afternoon as the sounds of heavy traffic could be heard on the main road not too far away. The Bentley was still parked where they had left it across the road. Darquesse let go of Lucia's hand.

"We'll get you home," Skulduggery said to Lucia, "and then you and me," he gestured to Darquesse "are going to have a talk." Darquesse smirked.

"I'll give her up when I feel like it," she sniggered "no amount of talking will change my mind on _that_ particular subject. And you know it." He shrugged.

"It was worth a try."

"What are you talking about?" Lucia asked timidly. Skulduggery and Darquesse both glanced to her. _Don't say a word_. Valkyrie growled.

"Nothing important." Darquesse muttered, glowering at nothing in particular. She was growing to hate doing what Valkyrie wanted her to do. It was so _boring_. There was no sport, or fun. Of course, Darquesse's concept of 'fun' was _slightly_ different to the average person, but hey, being the World Breaker was no picnic, especially when you had someone like Valkyrie in your head.

Skulduggery raised an eyebrow at her, and she scowled.

"Let's just go," she growled. God, he'll have thought she was going soft. Well, she'd show him soon enough that was not the case, maybe when she was ripping his arms from their sockets, or throwing him into the wall of a building or snapping each bone in his body one by one, who knew?

"Lucia, we'll be posting protection around your house and street. Try not to worry about what happened. There'll be a full investigation and we'll catch whoever's responsible. You have my word on that. However, as you don't know me very well, that probably won't mean much. So, if she'll allow me to speak on her behalf while she's unavailable at this moment, you have Valkyrie's word as well."

"Why is she unavailable? She's right there." Darquesse could feel Lucia pointing to her. She turned her around and glared at Skulduggery with all her might.

"Don't you dare say a word," she hissed, and then stormed across the road to the Bentley.

"Mum? Mum wait!" From the last syllable that escaped Lucia's lips, everything seemed to go in slow motion. She stepped out onto the road. A second step, a third, on the way to a run, when the horn of the oncoming truck blared out. The brakes squealed as Darquesse turned her head just in time to see the look of shock and fright on her daughter's face before the truck ploughed into her.

The sound of metal screeching was mixed in with her own elongated scream of 'no!' before it came to a dead halt, the cab a caved in wreckage of metal.

Darquesse was already moving, Valkyrie screaming inside her head, rushing to her daughter's aid. She had to be dead. The truck had been coming at such speed… _It was surely breaking the speed limit_ she thought numbly. It seemed to be the only rational thought in her mind. The rest was just screaming. Skulduggery had also jumped forwards and was rushing to her aid. The sight that met Darquesse's eyes may have made her the most shocked she had even been in her entire life.

At the point where Lucia had been stood, the cabin had caved in _around_ her, causing a tunnel like effect. Lucia's palm was raised, and Darquesse realised the point of curvature was from around her hand. Both she and Skulduggery stared, standing motionless, as Lucia lowered her hand slowly. She looked at her hand, flexed it for a moment, and then brought it back up and pushed. The truck shot backwards, wind whipping around them.

She looked at her hands again.

"Well," Skulduggery murmured "she has your talent."

"What descendant of the Ancients doesn't?" she responded.

"Lucia?" Skulduggery called. "Lucia Hartness?" Lucia stirred, her head moving slightly, and she turned. She looked at them, her straight hair falling slightly over her face. She had a blank expression on her face, and then as she looked from then, back to her palms, she began to smile, and then grin, and then laugh. Darquesse recognised that laugh. That was _her_ laugh, a laugh of pure maniac-ness, of pure murderous intent. Darquesse froze as she looked her daughter up and down, and realised, _this_ was _her_ daughter.

"It seems she's inherited a lot more than just our appearance," Darquesse murmured as Valkyrie cried out in horror in her mind, howling and shrieking.

"Oh dear," Skulduggery muttered "We may be in trouble."


	18. 18 - Like Mother Like Daughter

**I'M SO SORRY! I was doing coursework all throughout the holidays and didn't have much time to write, and then I got writer's block - you know where you know exactly what you want to happen and just can't seem to put it down on paper? - and I have mock exams coming up so, yeah :/ BUT I'm doing my best, and I'll post another chapter in a couple of days, I promise. :) **

**Be sure to comment and tell me what you think of the chapters. I ahven't been getting many comments lately :( Do you guys not like where this is going? Be sure to tell me if you don't, otherwise I won't be able to do anything about it!**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

Darquesse looked at her daughter, and wondered just how powerful she was in comparison. She could be a formidable opponent. Good. It was about time one of those popped up.

'_How can you think like that?_' Valkyrie growled '_She's our daughter_' True, but not necessarily significant. Darquesse listened as Valkyrie tried to make sense of it all. Of course, the Ancients had probably always had the possibility of this type of thing happening, after all, the very last Ancient, their ancestor, worked for good to destroy the Faceless Ones, and then evil by killing his comrades. The surge and exposure of magic around her mixed with an experience that under normal circumstances would have resulted in her death, must have caused the change.

Lucia was looking at her hands again, and then turned to face them. She looked the same – apart from the smile.

"Well," Darquesse grinned "what do we call this you?" Lucia tilted her head in thought.

"Misery," she said eventually, quietly, "my name is Misery."

"A fitting name I assume?" Skulduggery said cautiously. Lucia – no, _Misery_ – smiled again.

"I assume," she mimicked. Darquesse felt an odd surge of pride.

"This would be easier for everyone if you would allow Lucia to regain control," Skulduggery tried.

"But, then I wouldn't be out, would I?"

"No, that would be the point," Skulduggery said bluntly. Darquesse rolled her eyes.

"You're such a spoil-sport."

"You're no better Darquesse. I'm sure Valkyrie wants to be present for the duration of this situation."

"Of course she does. Doesn't mean it's happening." Darquesse smirked "Now if you don't mind, I think we have a bit of catching up to do," she threw out her palm, ad the air rippled like a tidal wave, slamming into Skulduggery and sending him rocketing into the house behind him. Bits of brick and plaster reigned down through the dust.

"Well, now that he's out of the way why don't we-" Darquesse was thrown back with the speed of a bullet train down the street, breaking her bones and shattering her organs. By the time she landed, in a crater of concrete that had previously been the road, she realised she no longer had a right leg or a left arm, and her right arm wasn't much better – decapitated at the elbow, it was hardly an arm at all any more. Still, no use crying of loss of limb.

She stood using her left leg, her body already repairing itself, cells regenerating, bone connecting back to bone, muscle layering over the top being itself layered over by fresh skin. Darquesse twisted her jaw back into place, and grinned.

"Not bad," she nodded, and rose into the air "for a beginner."

* * *

By the time Skulduggery managed to blast away the last of the brick and rubble that had been holding him down, Darquesse and Misery had vanished, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. He cursed and pulled out his phone, only to find it had been smashed in the impact. He tucked it back away in his pocket and ran to the Bentley. He had to find them, and warn the few Sanctuary members he could trust that Darquesse was loose. At least Valkyrie had been right about one thing – it probably would have been a good idea to keep her family away from magic.

The engine purred to life, the wheels protesting against the roughness of the torn up road. Skulduggery swung the car around and drove back in the direction they had first come in, onto the main road. The road he had just come down would have to be blocked off, the house fully investigated, and all inside arrested. But that would have to wait. But right now, he had world breakers to deal with.

* * *

Darquesse was flying like a bullet through the sky, Misery doing her best to keep up, rippling the air and attempting to make Darquesse fall by disrupting the cushions of air needed to fly. Amateur.

She swung around, fire balling in her hands, and shot it from her palms, a tidal wave of orange death. Misery ducked in the sky, went low, swooped around like a bird. Darquesse had to admit, although she wasn't the most natural mage, she was a good flyer. Valkyrie had fallen silent – in shock Darquesse thought – but she didn't care. The wind in her hair, adrenaline pumping through her veins, she was home. Free.

Misery came up to strike a punch, but she wasn't trained to do that well. Darquesse lashed out a kick and grinned wildly.

Misery fell slightly, lost a few meters, then composed herself, and pushed back at the air. Darquesse dodged quickly, going higher. The sound of whirring helicopter blades could be heard in the distance. If the press caught on, that would be it, end of the fight. She wasn't ready for that yet.

She turned and flew straight on, away from the sounds of the helicopter, knowing Misery would follow her – she wanted this fight maybe as much as Darquesse did. Or maybe it was all she knew. All she wanted. If that was the case, Darquesse knew how she was feeling. Giddy with glee, adrenaline fuelled, head pounding with the urge to kill, to main, to beat to a pulp until only a pile of red and pink mush remained. Like mother like daughter.

Dublin had been a congregation of buildings in the distance for a long time. Now, it was more like a speck, or an ant. Darquesse span on what would have been her heel if she hadn't been in the air, and watched as Misery drew closer, then, when she was close enough to see what was happening, Darquesse let herself fall, feet first, towards the fields below. Sheep and a possibly a few farmers would do no harm.

She landed softly, on both feet, like a graceful dancer. Misery stayed in the air, but came closer, hovering only a few meters above the ground. She seemed cautious, tentative. Then she grinned, and the fighting resumed.

* * *

Lucia wasn't sure what exactly had happened. She remembered being very confused, stepped out into the road to follow her mother, who didn't quite seem like her mother, and then hearing a tuck horn blaring, and seeing bright headlights as she turned. That was really the last thing she remembered. When she came to, the world was hazy, blurred, as if she was at the bottom of a black lake of ink, water rippling around her. Her limbs were heavy, her tongue limp and dry in her mouth, but she was moving, and speaking, she was sure. She could hear her own voice echoing in her head, and other voices, but much quieter. She wondered if this was what it was like to die, and for a moment, she thought she _was_ dead.

Then she gained a hazy vision through the darkness, which still swirled with merging colours and indistinct shapes, but she could see she was standing, and facing two people. It must have been Valkyrie and Skulduggery. And she was talking to them, even though her lips weren't moving. And she was looking at her hands, even though she hadn't moved her head.

'_Don't worry,_' a voice said to her, perfectly clear and obviously hers, '_I've got this under control_'. She wondered if it was her conscience speaking. She'd spoken to herself before, of course, didn't everyone? But it had never taken her _over_, if she was even sure that that was what had happened.

She watched as the figured quickly disappeared, grey patches of what she could only assume was the road, flying up in front of her. Then Valkyrie was back in view, and speaking, and then was gone, and so was the road, and the houses, and the truck that must surely have hit her. The only thing around her was sky. Bright blue sky, golden sun above, darkened Dublin beneath. Where was she going? Was she dying now? She wondered what Carol and her dad would have to say about that. She tried to move her body, to drag herself back towards the ground, and found that she couldn't. She could stand and move, and pace, and throw her arms in circles, and even crazily dance (if she had wanted to – she didn't), but none of the things she did changed the direction that she moved. She tried to speak to her conscience, and realised she couldn't. Or else, it couldn't hear her. It was if she had been pushed back in her own mind, and something else had taken over, had removed her.

She started to feel very sick, her stomach churning, and her head began to pound loudly against her ear drums. A wave of orange surged at her, and her body dodged, even though she herself had made no movement, as it had when it had talked, and walked, and looked around. She'd been possessed – that seemed like the only even slightly logical explanation. She'd seen shows and documentaries regarding the supernatural on the television. Possession must have been the answer. But, would she ever get out? That was the question. Would she even be her again? Have control of her own body? At that moment, it seemed like a hopeless dream.

She raised her fists to pound against her prison, and for a moment, thought it had worked, as her body dropped from the sky like a bullet. And then her hope faded as she realised the body was actually following someone, who had also dropped back to the ground. She pounded again, lashed out, but connected with nothing. She tried to run, to reach a wall, or even reach out to the light, but her feet turned to lead, locking her in place.

'_Stop struggling,_' said the thing that had possessed her – God it had even stolen her _voice_ – '_You're distracting me_'.

"Let me go!" Lucia cried out to it, "Let me out!"

'_I don't think so,_' was the thing's only reply. Lucia looked around helplessly, and felt her chest growing heavy, her stomach hurting, throat bulging, but it seemed she couldn't vomit in this world. The only thing she was thankful for was that it seemed she could no longer taste either.


	19. 19 - Let the Battle Commence

Skulduggery tried to maintain his calm façade as he walked into the Sanctuary. Through what seemed like sheer luck, he immediately bumped into Tanith. She was dressed as she always was, sword and scabbard by her side, but her expression was tense.

"Skulduggery! There you are! We've been looking everywhere for you and Val-"

"Tanith, I need you to get Ghastly, Fletcher and the others to the council room, right now."

"I can't guarantee they'll all still be here," Tanith said immediately, frowning."There's been an alert of two powerful mages fighting outside of Dublin. We have to go and stop them before they reach the city." She paused "What happened to your suit?"

"That's why we need to go to the council room, Tanith," he said, ignoring her last question (he didn't need to be reminded that one of his favourite suits was torn and probably going to have to be disposed of). "Just get everyone there, I only want to explain this once." They looked at each other grimly, and Tanith nodded.

"Alright. I'll be as quick as I can."

"Good. I'll see you there." They left in opposite directions, Skulduggery heading immediately for the council room. He knew Valkyrie wanted to keep Darquesse a secret, but now it seemed like that wasn't an option. Unless he made up some excuse like she'd been hit on the head and couldn't remember them, but that was probably the worst cover story he'd ever thought of, and the worst plans were not spoken aloud – it would damage his reputation.

And then there was the problem of Lucia. She'd found her true name, under miraculous and very irritating circumstances, yes, but she'd found it. And she was like Darquesse in every way. Appearance. Power. Motivation.

Skulduggery thought back to Cassandra's visions of Darquesse destroying the world and wondered to himself, if it really had been _Darquesse_ she was seeing.

The council room doors opened, and Ghastly, Tanith, Fletcher, Dexter, China and Saracen walked in.

"Where's Shudder?" Skulduggery asked.

"He's not in today," Tanith replied.

"What's this about Skulduggery? We can't afford to waste time," China asked, irritated.

"The mages. One of them is Darquesse." Silence fell on the room.

"But, Darquesse hasn't shown up for years," Fletcher said, her voice wavering slightly "How do you know it's her?"

"I saw them. She was outside after we rescued Valkyrie's daughter,"

"You rescued Lucia? That's a relief," Tanith said with a breath as Dexter simultaneously said:

"You got out of there? Where's Valkyrie? What happened?"

"Valkyrie _is _Darquese," he said bluntly. The room fell silent, shell-shocked. "She found out her true name when she was 15 and sealed it. That's why the remnants were after her."

"You knew? You knew and you never told us?" Ghastly said quietly. Skulduggery could tell he was furious.

"It wasn't my place to say anything. Valkyrie wanted it to stay a secret, especially with the constant news of Darquesse being the World Breaker." He responded smoothly. "She's kept Darquesse contained as much as she can. She left the Sanctuary because she didn't think she was strong enough to bring her consciousness back if Darquesse took over her again." The room was still silent until China decided to speak.

"Why are you telling us this now, then?" She asked. Skulduggery gritted his teeth.

"Because her daughter is the same," he said slowly, "her true name was discovered too. And now, we have two World Breakers on our hands." Saracen cursed.

"What are we going to do?" Fletcher asked, slightly pale.

"We can bring both of their non-destructive personalities back. Without killing them. Lucia – or, Misery, if we're calling her by her true name –will be the easiest because this is her first time being released. Darquesse will be more difficult."

"Misery?"

"Yes."

"See, that already doesn't sound good."

"I'm well aware of that."

"Is that why your suit's torn?"

"Darquesse has never liked me interfering." Again with the suit… "She won't attack the city while she's fighting Misery. We just have to make sure they both stay far enough away that we can get them back without levelling a street."

"Saracen, where were they last spotted?" China asked, her voice masking any surprise she may still have had.

"About fifteen miles west," he replied immediately.

"Then that's where we'll go," she said, authority in her voice. "We're leaving. Now. Skulduggery," he looked to her, her beautiful face looked back with a grim frown "I hope you know what you're doing."

* * *

He watched them all hurry into the council room, led by Tanith Low, and crept over, checking the corridors. There was no one there, he was safe.

He pressed an ear against the thick wooden door and listened carefully. At first he could only make out a few sounds, but as his ears adjusted, those sounds formed words, muffled at first, but then clearer, until he could understand what was being said inside.

"You got out of there? Where's Valkyrie? What happened?" He recognised the voice as Elder Vex's. Another voice spoke up, one so velvety it could only be Skulduggery Pleasant.

"Valkyrie _is _Darquese," he said bluntly. The room fell silent, and he could suddenly hear his own breathing get heavier. But, Darquesse was evil, right? "She found out her true name when she was 15 and sealed it. That's why the remnants were after her." Skulduggery continued.

"You knew? You knew and you never told us?" Elder Bespoke's voice now entered the conversation, dangerously quiet, so quiet he almost couldn't hear it through the door. He pressed his ear further into the door. He didn't want to miss anything. It was about time he was involved in the big leagues.

"It wasn't my place to say anything. Valkyrie wanted it to stay a secret, especially with the constant news of Darquesse being the World Breaker." Skulduggery responded smoothly. "She's kept Darquesse contained as much as she can. She left the Sanctuary because she didn't think she was strong enough to bring her consciousness back if Darquesse took over her again." The room was silent then, until the Grand Mage spoke,

"Why are you telling us this now, then?"

"Because her daughter is the same," Skulduggery's voice spoke slowly, "her true name was discovered too. And now, we have two World Breakers on our hands." A voice he recognised as Saracen's, cursed.

"What are we going to do?" Fletcher asked.

"We can bring both of their non-destructive personalities back. Without killing them. Lucia – or, Misery, if we're calling her by her true name – will be the easiest because this is her first time being released. Darquesse will be more difficult."

"Misery?"

"Yes."

"See, that already doesn't sound good."

"I'm well aware of that."

"Is that why your suit's torn?"

"Darquesse has never liked me interfering. She won't attack the city while she's fighting Misery. We just have to make sure they both stay far enough away that we can get them back without levelling a street."

"Saracen, where were they last spotted?" The Grand Mage asked.

"About fifteen miles west," he replied immediately.

"Then that's where we'll go," she said, authority in her voice. "We're leaving. Now."

He backed away from the door quickly, scurrying off around the corner. He had a feeling he had been left out of that meeting for a reason. But he had to go with them. There was no alternative. Fifteen miles west? He was already there.

* * *

A single grey van followed the Bentley out of Dublin, heading west. The ride was eerier, on account of there didn't seem to be a trail of destruction as there usually was with Darquesse. Skulduggery guessed they had flown out here, for what reason he wasn't quite sure – Darquesse had never exactly cared about people seeing her. Maybe Misery had made a run for it, and Darquesse had simply followed, still wanting the fight. That seemed like a logical explanation.

At the first sign of destruction – a crater of dirt – they pulled over and listened. There was a barn a little further in the distance on the left side of the rode – the only landmark. Apart from that, it was just fields and a few scattered sheep. A fence was broken, but the livestock was staying well away, as if they knew danger lurked beyond it. The air was still, quiet. It was deeply unnerving. Skulduggery watched through the window, Ghastly in the passenger seat (Valkyrie wouldn't be happy that he'd adjusted it, but that was really the least of his worries). Then they heard a scream.

"There! Go!" Skulduggery put his foot down on the pedal and the Bentley lurched forward, the van jumping into action behind it. The scream seemed to have come from the barn. Skulduggery slammed onto the brakes outside of it and leapt out, Ghastly hot on his heels as the others in the van ran after them. Skulduggery threw open the barn doors, and then he and Ghastly simultaneously ducked inside as a bale of what he guessed was straw, rocketed towards them, tumbling onto the road outside.

Darquesse was hovering near the ceiling, Misery on the ground, watching her, but seemingly guarding something. Darquesse threw a wall of air towards her, and she deflected it as best she could, although it still made her wobble, straw and hay flying up around them.

Skulduggery moved over, gun in hand, creeping around the edge of the barn behind a row of bales, to get close to Misery. He didn't exactly have a plan, at least, not a very good one, but he'd have to make do. He thought that, until the others crept into the barn, and he saw what Misery was 'guarding'. At first he just saw the lumps, and then he realised they were in fact shoes, attached to a pair of legs.

Magnus was sat, holding both his arm and his chest at the same time, blood splattered around him messily. From the lack of noise, Fletcher hadn't seen him yet. Misery glanced to him, but did nothing, firing a jet of water up at Darquesse that she evaporated in mid-air with a stream of fire.

"Can you heal him?" A quiet, concentrated voice asked. Skulduggery looked towards it, and saw it was Misery who had spoken, out of the corner of her mouth. Skulduggery looked at him. He didn't look good, pale shaking, bloodied, but as he looked, an idea formed in his head. It was slightly cruel, and Fletcher would hate him for it, but it seemed like the only concrete way that he could get Misery to turn back. From there, he could deal with Darquesse.

"I could," Skulduggery said quietly, and knew she was listening, "but I won't."

"Why not?" She hissed.

"Because I don't want to."

"That's mean."

"It is," he nodded "but maybe I would want to heal him, if you let Lucia regain control."  
"Are you blackmailing me?"

"Possibly."

"You really _are_ mean."

"So you've said. What will it be, yes or no? It doesn't look like he has long left." She glanced to him with a sharp glare, and then glanced beyond him to where Magnus was struggling to breathe.

"Fine," she growled, snapping a final air strike at Darquesse, who had begun to notice that she was talking to a hay bale. Misery's knees buckled slightly, and Skulduggery caught her quickly, dragging her backwards to put her beside Magnus. She was conscious again in a second.

"What the-" Skulduggery stepped out and aimed his gun at Darquesse, watching her face turn from slight confusion, to a delighted grin.

"Fletcher," Skulduggery barked, then gestured behind him with one hand. Fletcher was instantly there, and saw both Magnus and Lucia.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He muttered.

"Get him to Kenspeckle and Jade." Fletcher nodded and then they were gone.

"So," Darquesse smiled "having fun?"

"Not really." Skulduggery answered bluntly, his head swimming with possibilities. He needed to find a plan that would appeal to Valkyrie. Maybe she still had the power to break down Darquesse's walls. Darquesse was strong, but Valkyrie was stronger. Suddenly, he had a snap idea that would either work wonderfully, or fail with dreadful consequences.

He pushed the hay bales next to him away with the air in a swift movement that made Darquesse tense slightly, as if she thought he was going to aim his attack at her. Darquesse could now see Lucia, and that was _very_ important. Skulduggery pointed his gun at her.

"Give Valkyrie back, or I'll shoot." He said plainly.

"What?!" The shout came simultaneously from almost all around the room, including Lucia herself, but Darquesse did nothing but frown slightly.

"Very funny," she sighed.

"I mean it," he cocked the gun back "Valkyrie, you know me. You know I would." Darquesse frowned, seemingly having an internal debate with herself.

"Then do it. Go on." She grinned, and Skulduggery shrugged.

"Ok," he turned with steely resilience, and then everything seemed to happen at once. Lucia screamed, and there was a holler, and he paused and looked up again just in time to see Valkyrie fall from her position in the air, and land safely in Dexter Vex's arms.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Lucia asked, her eyes shiny with what might have developed into tears.

"Let me share a secret with you," he said, pulling the gun back. He unloaded the mag and showed it to her "It's empty."

"B-but,"

"While everyone was looking at the hay bales falling over I swapped the mags." He explained "Even if I had pulled the trigger, nothing would have happened." He held a hand out to help her up, and she took it. She really did look like Valkyrie.

He turned around and walked to the middle of the barn where Vex had caught Valkyrie.

"That was a risky plan," Ghastly said

"It worked didn't it." No one argued with him as they left the barn, putting a still unconscious Valkyrie into the back of the Bentley, Lucia following Tanith into the van. They drove away in silence, Skulduggery wondering how he was going to tell Valkyrie that her secret was out. There were so many uncertainties about what was going to happen now the Sanctuary knew Detective Valkyrie Cain was Darquesse the World Breaker. One thing they could be sure of was that the farmer that owned that barn was _not_ going to be happy.


End file.
